


A Little Push

by Kensarto



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:20:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 47
Words: 268,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28323732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kensarto/pseuds/Kensarto
Summary: What was originally to be just the explicit scenes crossposted, this story is now a complete cross posting from fanfiction.netThe story follow Jaune Arc in a 'The Gamer'-esque setting.Arkos Pairing.
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos
Comments: 7
Kudos: 55





	1. The Journey Begins I

**Firstly, a big shout out to Coeur Al'Aran: a big name (in my opinion at least) in RWBY fan fiction writing. They have given all authors permission (with the reasonable condition that credit is given) to utilize certain aspects of his story such as the Arc family names, town names, and the like, which I have taken him up on. After having read so many of their stories I found that when writing and planning this story I would constantly be bothered by the fact the names weren't the ones I had seen in Couer’s work. So with that said, thank you, and well done on taking such control over my mind with your writing that I could not imagine a setting without these names.**

**I hope you enjoy.**

Jaune Arc comes from a family with a decorated history of warriors and military heroes. This much at least is a fact. Jaune's fondest and youngest memories were of reading stories. Stories about his Great-Great-Grandfather, and his actions in the Faunus War. Jaune's father, the current patriarch of the Arc family, is not a soldier though. He is a huntsman, one worthy of recognition. He is also quite the teacher. He has raised and trained all his of-age daughters to a level of skill that is worthy of respect. Thanks to his tutelage every Arc family member is living up to and bringing honor to the family name, every member except Jaune.

Most children by the age of 6 had already unlocked their class. The world recognized their talent as a knight or a mage. Jaune, who is 17 years old now, remains classless. Many consider him to be a lost cause, a late-bloomer who never bloomed. Jaune has struggled every day trying to keep up with his peers. He had no blade skills and no unnatural strength or endurance. He was a product of nothing more than hard work.

"Keep your left foot forward not right! Step with the foot closest to the direction you're moving first, don't cross your legs! Now Strike!" an experienced voice barked, demanding improvement, "Again!"

Jaune struck out with a wooden sword again and again in time with the commands. His father parried every strike effortlessly. Jaune was better than he was when he started. He had been quick to learn which end of the blade to hold and which end was thrust into his opponent. He had learned that lesson the hard way, courtesy of his father. Quicker than his speed of learning the basics, was his speed in proving himself. Proving that he had the determination to weather the circumstance of his upbringing. The world was not so cruel as to deny the benefits of honest hard work after all. Jaune may not have ever gained a skill. But his attributes had grown, setting the foundation for a warrior to be.

Sadly, without a class to level or skills to use, those around Jaune had labeled him a disappointment.

"That's enough for today Jaune, head inside and get washed up for dinner. We're done for today." His father exclaimed.

"I can keep going Dad, I'm close. I can feel it!" Jaune replied, begging his father to continue helping him refine his fighting style.

"No closer than you were yesterday or the day before that Jaune. We have been drilling this exercise for over a week and it hasn't changed a thing. Maybe its time you-"

"No! I'm not giving up Dad. Nobody has ever failed to get a class. We just haven't discovered what unlocks mine. I'll get something amazing any day now. I could be a Hunter or Champion like you and Mom! I just need to stick to it until it happens." Jaune pleaded an argument that has been had time after time between the two. "At least let me continue until I get 1 more point of fortitude."

"One more hour. Then come in and get washed up. Your mother and I have something important to talk to you about after dinner." Jaune's father left little room for argument, so Jaune didn't bother.

Jaune trained for another full hour. Stretching his muscles to his limits. Finally, it happened.

**[For stretching your endurance to its limit your Fortitude has increased by 1]**

  
  


Jaune brushed his now soaked blond hair out of his eyes as he focused. Once he had caught his breath his attention switched to bringing up his status.

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 1**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 18**

**Fortitude: 25**

**Dexterity: 15**

**Aura: Locked**

**/-/**

It was no surprise to see his aura locked as his father had refused to unlock it for him until he earned his class

After showering and getting changed, his mother recruited him into setting the table. A job that also required keeping his younger sisters under control before dinner. With the meal out of the way, his mother and father shooed his siblings out of the room.

The three stood shoulder to shoulder at the sink. It was how things were done in the Arc family. One person cleaned, one person dried, and the other stacked and put the dishes away. The only difference was today there was no friendly chatter. There was a more serious discussion to be had.

"Jaune, we want you to know your father and I are so proud of your efforts. Just as we are proud of what your older sisters have done and everything your little sisters are doing. You've got a big heart and a lot to give the world." His mother spoke, her eyes showing already growing moist.

His father continued, "However, it wouldn't be right of us as parents to let you continue with this dream of yours. We know that ever since you were young you wanted to become a huntsman. We also know that the cut-off date for applications to Beacon Academy isn’t far off. You need a signature from us in place of a combat prep school’s graduation letter." He paused. "We aren't going to sign anything, I'm sorry. Without a class or a single skill to defend yourself with it would spell disaster. I tried to teach you the basics, and you were a quick study, but it’s not enough. Sending you off to Beacon's Initiation like this would be a death sentence. It's not something your mother or I could ever agree to."

Jaune’s mother was fanning her eyes to ward off the tears. She didn’t want to tell Jaune these things any more than Jaune wanted to hear them.

"We have applied for you to join a great technical school in Argus. There are still so many options for you Jaune and we will support you in any way we can." He handed Jaune a medium-sized envelope from his pocket. Jaune took it wordlessly.

Jaune had always had a feeling. It was the little things that had built up over the last few years. They always said ‘believe in yourself' instead of ‘you can do anything you set your mind to'.

Sure, his father had offered training. But he had also refused to unlock his aura or let him train with a real sword. It was always drilling the basics, 'building a stronger foundation' as his father would say. He knew deep down that his parents didn't think he could become a huntsman, he had just tried to ignore it.

His father sat both Jaune and his mother down at the table as neither of them was capable of working anyway.

"Classes start in a few weeks and inside that envelope is your acceptance letter. You can stay with your sister Sapphire for a while but we've got some money put aside for you to get yourself set up."

His mother quickly interjects. "Don't get us wrong Jaune. We aren't trying to throw you out. We just believe that going to a bigger city than this and developing some independence could be good for you. Isn't that right Nicky?"

"Of course Juniper dear." Nicholas continues, "You'll always have a place here with us son. You can even continue your training with the sword if you want to. There is no harm in learning how to defend yourself. Not to mention a better physique will only help you with the ladies, right lad?" The joke as it were fell flat.

“So what do you say?” his father asked.

After a few moments of silence Jaune decided to speak up, "Could I have tonight to think about it? It's a lot all at once..."

His mother took his hand and squeezed it gently, "Of course dear, you can take as much time as you need to think this over. Go and get some rest." Juniper planted a kiss on his forehead and took her husband with her, he rustled Jaune’s hair on his way past.

A short time passed, with Jaune waiting at the table, the envelope and its contents still held in his hand. Jaune choked down the tears that threatened to rise at the unfairness of the whole situation.

_It’s not my fault I was born with a class that refuses to unlock._

He took his package and dragged himself up to his room where he sorted through the contents. Several thousand Lien and the acceptance letter were all contained within.

The sight of the letter caused something to snap within Jaune. He wasn’t going to roll over and take this.

_I didn’t go through all this training just to quit now. I’ll prove to everyone that I can do this._

Jaune packed a small suitcase with a few extra items of clothing. He charged his scroll and put together a few other miscellaneous items while he waited. After a few hours, he snuck downstairs. He crept through the house in the dead of night to where he knew he would find it; Crocea Mors. A long sword with a blue handle and a golden crossguard. It was marked with scratches, proof that this was no mere mantle decoration. This was a blade that had been passed down through the generations. It was a simple blade, but a durable one that had seen decades of real combat and come through it unbroken.

With his belongings packed and his mind set, Jaune took Crocea Mors. He quietly opened the front door and walked through it.

He looked out toward the road leading from his home. The moonlight shining down from above was strong enough to provide light with which to see. Illuminating the start of a long journey. Jaune swore to himself, the next time he returned he would have proven himself, and so he set out.


	2. The Journey Begins II

It was times like these that make Jaune remember that being classless isn’t the worst thing in the world. No, at least he could train and become stronger. He looked out the window of the bullhead he was traveling in. It was one of many over the last few days as he had switched from bullhead to airship and back. He had traveled through Mistral, over the sea to Vale, and then now through Vale to its capital city. Which is also called Vale, a bit lazy now that Jaune thought of it.

He then threw up in the nearest garbage can.

Indeed to Jaune being classless was an obstacle he had to overcome. This motion sickness though was a malady that never seemed to get better. When he was young he discovered this particular problem when his family went to Atlas on holiday. Every single time he took a flight after that day he has been ill. No amount of fortitude seemed to negate this.

The shocking quantity of vomit ejected was worth it though. He had arrived at Vale. The customs processed him quite fast and pushed him forwards into the city proper. Around him was a sight that is much more impressive than the glimpses he caught from the airship. There were brick buildings more often than not four stories tall. Hard-light dust installations were visible over the city. Highway road barriers, lamp-posts, and banners were all glowing with the stuff. Small trees within garden beds sprouted out alongside the roads. For Jaune who had lived in a more rural town, it was a welcome addition.

As Jaune wandered into the town, there were two thoughts on his mind. The first being that he was completely lost in a city he had never even seen before today. The second of course being that he had stranded himself here without a concrete plan of what he was going to do next. There were only a few days left until initiation. Jaune needed to get his hands on some transcripts. Unfortunately, faking documents like this was risky, and not exactly legal.

A voice calling out from the side of the road interrupted Jaune from his thoughts.

“Hey pal, you lost or something? You’re kinda standing in the middle of the road there.”

Jaune turned to look at the voice which called out to him. He spotted a girl, though 'girl' was an understatement. She looked like a woman who could kick his ass and have him saying ‘Thanks for the opportunity’ afterward. It was clear from a glance that she had training based on her physique. The class that hovered above her head, 'Bruiser', confirmed it. This girl was a fighter and a very attractive one.

“Might want to close that mouth lover boy, unless you’re trying to catch a fly that is.’

The girl approached and gave him a playful slap on the arm rousting him back to the real world.

“I’m willing to bet you’ve never seen Vale before right? You were walking around like you didn’t know where you were going.”

_This is my moment. A girl is talking to me, time to work the Arc family charm. Just like Dad taught me._

_Girls love confidence. Confidence, be confident._

“I guess I am pretty lost. It’s my first time in the big city.” He thrust out a hand towards the girl, “The name’s Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it.”

She took his hand, shaking it with a small laugh, “I’m sure they do, you can call me Yang. Do you know where you’re trying to go? I can point you to a few places if I know them? My sister would totally chew me out if she knew I found someone who needed help and didn’t at least offer some help. So if it’s not too much I can help you get there.”

Jaune smiled, “I need to find a place to stay to start with. It doesn’t have to be permanent. A few weeks or so to start with. You know anywhere like that?”

“Yeah, I can think of a few places. Normally it’d be a lot pricier to get a place. Lucky for you Beacon’s initiation is starting soon. A lot of places are making a quick buck by taking on the students who are coming in.” Yang started to walk down the road while she spoke, prompting Jaune to follow. “Lucky for you we are in the commercial district right now so all the good places are close by.”

“You seem to know a bit about this whole situation with students coming in for the initiation, is that why you’re here? To join Beacon Academy?” Jaune asked.

Yang spun around, walking backward while she spoke, “Yeah it is actually, I’ve been training at Signal. My uncle is one of the instructors there, and I’ve gotta say, I’m pretty good. Although I guess my class helps with that.” She gestured roughly above her head to where the text was floating.

Jaune awkwardly rubbed his neck before responding.

"I suppose it does help, but I’ll still be seeing you there at Beacon anyway.”

“You’re coming to Beacon? Like, you’ll be coming this year to study? That’s amazing lover b- no, that’s awesome Jaune. I don’t want to be rude but I wasn’t expecting that since I didn’t see a class. Did you study somewhere?”

_Shit! I should’ve expected questions like this. Uh Mistral, Haven, Sanctum... Safety, Shield..._

“Aegis!” Jaune exclaimed a little too loudly in his rush to say something. “That’s where I studied I mean, Aegis Combat Prep School, it’s a tiny place in comparison, nothing like Haven or Sanctum. I was the only person in my grade to graduate actually which came as a surprise to everyone, even me if I’m being honest.” He wasn’t.

“Aegis huh? Never heard of it.” Yang questioned. “You Mistral folk really roll with that whole motif of protection don’t you? Well, whatever, it’s cool to know that I’ll already know somebody on the first day.”

“Yeah definitely,” Jaune replied.

He was somewhat shocked that the hastily formed lie worked as easily as it did. Especially shocking considering his classlessness.

Yang turned back around and began to give Jaune a true guide to the city. She pointed out the shops that she frequented. Jaune made sure to note the location of a nearby roadside ramen stall called ‘A Simple Wok’. It would do for his meals in a pinch.

“Over there is a blacksmith, I don’t know what kind of gear you use, but if you need more you should come here.” Yang explained, “I came here a few years ago after I’d finished designing my weapon, and he made it for me. My dad told me that he is the highest level blacksmith in Vale and that even licensed hunters come to him.”

Jaune made sure he would remember that particular piece of information. He would like to get some body armor as soon as he can. The shield is useful, but some insurance would be nice.

The two passed by a bookstore called ‘Tukson’s Book Trade’. Jaune wasn’t much for reading. If he needed to buy textbooks for the year or something it was still useful to know. Based on the look on Yang’s face after Jaune inquired about it, she was glad he didn’t drag her inside.

It wasn’t long before the tour had finished. Yang brought Jaune to a small hostel which had a decent crowd of similar aged girls and boys streaming in and out.

“Here we are Jaune; this place is your best bet. It’s where I’m staying as well so that’s a bonus for you too." She winked. “It’s not too expensive, and it's only a short walk from where the bullheads take off from to get to Beacon. Plus there is a club nearby, I’ll be heading there tonight, you can join me if you think you can keep up.”

Jaune knew he had a lot to do, but he also didn’t want to turn down the opportunity immediately. “It sounds like a lot of fun, but I do have a few things I need to get in order.” Jaune took out his scroll. “If you give me your scroll number I could contact you when I’ve finished my business and join up with you?”

It was the first time Jaune had asked for a girl's scroll number. As a result, his hopefulness bled into his request.

“You sure move fast, don’t you? Picked me off the street and 20 minutes later you’re asking for my number and we’re setting up a date.” Yang responded with a smirk.

“A date!?” Jaune stuttered.

“Hahaha calm down, I wasn’t asking you out on anything serious and I know you weren’t either, here.” Yang took his scroll and entered in her details. “You text me tonight when you’re free and if there is still time we can go out dancing. Then I can see if your moves on the dance floor are better than your moves today. Either way, it was nice talking to you Jaune, I’m gonna go catch up with my sister. Seeya later lover boy.”

Jaune watched her as she went, and when she was finally out of sight released his breath.

_What my Dad taught me actually works. I was starting to worry she was only talking to me to be helpful, but I got a girl's number out of it in the end._

Jaune set himself up with a room for the next few nights. The stress of trying to be a more confident and competent version of himself was tiring. Not to mention worrying about whether he would have to make any more lies.

He let himself into the room and immediately got to work taking out his luggage. He had spent so long traveling that he hadn’t had a good opportunity to clean his clothes. The pair he had on was his last clean set. Once the clothes were in the wash or hung out, Jaune sunk into the mattress, exhausted.

“It’s still hard to believe I’m finally here.” Jaune sighed.

Jaune noted the clock saying that it was just shy of 7 pm.

_I should go get some food for the next few days before all the shops close. I can check out the blacksmith tomorrow._

Jaune packed his suitcase away, taking only his scroll, his lien, and the keys for this room, and left. He made sure not to take too long sight-seeing. Just a quick meal at the restaurant he saw earlier and a short browse through a bakery.

Jaune looked down a nearby alleyway. It looked like it cut through to the next street over near where the hostel was.

Deciding he didn’t want to ruin what little ground he had gained with Yang by being late, he decided to take the shortcut. As he walked further into the alley it got dark fast. The overhanging rooftops blocked the natural light and the lamp posts on the roads were too far away.

It was only thanks to good luck that Jaune managed to hear a noise from behind him as he walked.

Jaune turned to look behind him to see the back of an axe head flying towards his face. Jaune stumbled backward. Far enough to dodge the blow, but close enough to feel the wind breeze past his nose.

“Don’t worry kid, we ain’t gonna kill ya. Hand over whatever’s in the bag with your scroll and lien and you can leave in one piece.” The man standing before him said. He wore a black suit with red sunglasses and a black fedora.

_Wait… We?_

Jaune looked over his shoulder. There were two more identically dressed men who stepped out from behind some brickwork. They each wielded an axe of their own.

_I shouldn’t have left my sword at home._

“You sure we can’t talk this out or something? I know! Here, take the bag. It has my breakfast for tomorrow in it.” Jaune replied.

He placed the bag at his feet and taking a few steps away from the pair approaching him from further down the alley.

“Don’t make this difficult kid, hand over your stuff. Don't miss a bit. Then you can leave. You don’t want us to make this messy do you?” the man responded.

_I can’t give up the money. I could live with giving up the scroll and the food, but I’m going to need money over the next couple of days. I don’t have any training at fighting with my fists. But I’m going to have to make do._

Jaune looked toward the man closest, then at the two at the end of the alley, a rogue and two fighters. He wished at a time like this that he could see their level, but he knew that would likely backfire on him.

_I’m pretty sure my dad taught me something about fighting while outnumbered. What was it again? Oh right._

Jaune immediately slugged the man nearest him.

“Hit the one who talks the most as hard and as fast as you can!” Jaune shouted as his fist connected with the man’s jaw.

To Jaune’s surprise, the man folded like a wet blanket immediately after contact. He mustn’t have been as high a level as he thought.

Jaune rushed over to pick up the man’s weapon. It was heavy and unbalanced compared to Crocea Mors. But it would do more than his fists against two armed fighters.

“I dropped this chump, and now I’m not unarmed, you two still want to do this?” Jaune taunted.

_Please don’t still want to do this._

The two looked at each other before shrugging.

“Whatever kid, you’re not worth the effort of whatever pocket change you’re carrying. That idiot thought because you were classless you’d be easy pickings. Shows what he knows”

Jaune thought on that statement for a moment while watching the two leave. Then when he was sure they had left he turned his attention on the man left behind. Jaune got down and he gave him a strong slap to the face with his right. The man woke in shock but seeing the position he was in he calmed down almost immediately.

“You’re going to answer a few questions for me, sound good?” Jaune asked, trying to emulate the way his father spoke.

_Confidence Jaune, you can do this, just like with Yang, be confident._

The man nodded, Jaune continued. “Good. Your friends have already left you behind, so right now I’m the one in charge. I need some documents forged, do you know someone who can do this. Don’t talk; just nod your head if you do.” The man nodded.

_Thank Oum that I watched all those Spruce Willis cop films._

“You’re going to tell me how to get there, and you’re going to tell me what I need to do to get what I want. 100 words or less, got it?”

The man nodded, before opening his mouth when it was safe to speak.

“You got it, man, look, go to a place called Junior’s Club. It’s a nightclub near here, but it’s also where our gang conducts its business. Junior is the bartender, but he is also our boss. If you’ve got money he can put something together for you. I promise.” The man explained.

“I don’t trust the promises of a thug. If I find out you’ve lied, there’s going to be trouble for you got it?” Jaune bluffed, knowing full well that he wouldn’t find the man again in this city if he is lying.

“I’m not man, look. It’s business for our boss. Tell him you know he deals in information, he is well known enough that he won’t suspect much. I’m sorry we attacked you, just let me go man.” The man pleaded.

Jaune rose, keeping him somewhat pinned to the ground with the axe on his chest. “I’m going to. You’ve done what I asked.” The man sighed in relief. Jaune proceeded to knock him out with a quick kick to the temple.

He hadn’t lied, not exactly. He was letting the guy go. He just wasn’t going to show his back to him as he did.

When Jaune got home, he put away his groceries and strapped his sword to his waist.

_I won’t be heading out without this in the future. That could’ve gone a lot worse. Better give Yang a quick text, if I’ve got time I’ll go meet this ‘Junior’ before meeting up with Yang._

“Hey Yang, it’s Jaune. I’m back at the hotel. I need to go do something, it could take another hour or so, but if you want to head out now, I could do it tomorrow instead?”

A few minutes passed before his scroll went off.

“Not much of a night owl, are you? We have loads of time tonight to head out, and I’m not in any rush. Go do your thing and then you can come to pick me up, I’m in room 112.”

“Oh, and bring your weapon. Barely anything happens. But the nightlife can get a bit rowdy. Sometimes having your weapon can be a bit of extra security. Even just as a threat to convince others not to do anything stupid.”

“See you then, lover boy <3”

_Could’ve told me that before I went out this afternoon… Whatever it’s not her fault._

“See you then.”

Jaune grabbed the envelope his parents gave him and headed out. He followed the directions he was given and eventually he arrived. From the outside, you wouldn’t know it was a night club. The only real clue being the signs above the doorway labeled ‘Junior’s Club’.

_Creative name._

The inside of Junior’s Club lived up to his imagination much better than the plain outside. Music was blaring as soon as he stepped inside and the dance floor was, even now, crowded with men and women alike. Above the dance floor was an impressive array of spotlights and speakers. They strobed the entire scene with reds and bright whites. Looking around, Jaune saw men dressed like the ones who attacked him. If his attackers were here, he wouldn't be able to tell them apart. They all looked the same.

Upfront, past the dance floor, was the DJ. He bounced up and down while fiddling with the different sliders and nobs in front of him.

Off to the side was the Bar, a long table lined with stools. Behind it was an even longer shelf containing hundreds of different bottles.

Remembering that Junior posed as the bartender, he went straight to the bar.

It wasn’t hard to find him. Compared to his lackeys he was a much larger man, towering over Jaune who was quite tall for his age. Instead of the black suit, the man instead wore merely a black vest over his white dress suit. The man held the class of warlord. It wasn't a class he had heard of before. But by sheer virtue of the way it sounded, it added to his intimidating presence. He was ordering around several of the goons, stirring them into action with little more than a wave of his hand. Another good sign that this was the leader he was looking for.

“Are you Junior?” Jaune asked, taking a seat on the stool in front of him.

“Who’s asking?” Junior responded.

Taking that as confirmation Jaune continued.

“I heard you deal in information and that you can help me get my hands on some… unique documents.”

Jaune would have usually lowered his voice before asking such a question. The music forced him into shouting.

Junior put down a glass he was wiping, “That depends on how much money you have, and what you’re looking for.” He gestured to a suited man nearby who took his position behind the bar. “Follow me and we can talk business”

Jaune followed behind him, making sure to keep his eyes and ears open. He needed to be here, but he knew what type of organization he was working with after those three tried to mug him. Jaune was led into a room past the DJ with a thick wooden door.

“Close the door behind you kid,” Junior said. It wasn’t exactly a request so Jaune did as he asked. The moment the door shut it snuffed out the sound of music. “That’s better, now we can talk.”

“You want documents, I can probably make em, but what do you want?” Junior asked.

Jaune looked at the man who now sat behind his desk. He poured himself a drink from an expensive-looking bottle.

“I’m looking for transcripts to get into Beacon Academy. I need them in a few days for initiation. I have this if it helps?”

Jaune placed the envelope that contained the signed acceptance letter on the desk.

“It’s got some signatures of people involved in education there. I already have a bit of a story that I had to tell someone who is going to be there. So I have some details you can start with if that helps.”

Junior looked over the documents while drinking from his glass.

“What’s this back story you’ve come up with? I’m not going to make any guarantees for you here. You’re trying to sneak your way into one of the biggest combat academies for huntsmen in Remnant. They’re bound to have some way of checking these things. But at the very least I can tell you if your little lies are going to hold up over a glance.”

Jaune swallowed, “Aegis academy. It was a name I came up with on the spot while someone was asking me about it today. She is going to be there at the initiation. I’m from Mistral and I figured with how they name everything –“

Junior interrupted, “I get it, Aegis. I take it it’s ‘just a small place in the boonies’ or something along those lines. Fine I can make ‘em. If they don’t work it’s not my problem anymore. 700 Lien upfront. I can have em to you by tomorrow night at the latest…” Junior looked at the letter before finishing, “Jaune.”

Junior stood up and opened the door for him then he spoke once more. His words killed any relief that Jaune was feeling.

“By the way. I heard a little story about some blonde kid knocking out one of my guys. If you hadn’t come here with real business, I was planning on breaking both your knees. Lucky for you, since you’re a client now, we can let bygones be bygones, sound good?”

Jaune nodded, he took back his envelope and handed over 700 Lien, causing Junior to step away from the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow then...”

Jaune headed back to his room to put away the letter and get dressed in his favorite clothes. He knocked on the door of room 112, trying to use what little time he had left to hype himself up for tonight.

_Confidence Jaune. Technically she invited you, you can hold a conversation, and you even took on those guys today._

Jaune’s thoughts were interrupted by the door in front of him opening. To his surprise, the girl who answered the door wasn’t tall, blonde, and beautiful. Instead, she stood at a height barely passing his shoulders. Her hair was dark, almost black but with red highlights at the ends. Above her head was the class 'Reaper'. Jaune barely managed to stop himself from drooling at the cool-sounding class. It was exactly the sort of thing Jaune had always wished he would one day get.

“Hello? Is uh, Yang available?” Jaune inquired.

“Yeah, she is just inside, hang on.” The girl replied before yelling into the room, “Sis! Someone is at the door for you!”

The girl looked back at Jaune before idly scratching her head, “She won’t be long. So uh I like your hoodie, it has a cute little bunny on it.”

_Cute little bunny?_

“It’s Pumpkin Pete, from the cereal. He’s not cute he’s cool!” Jaune tried to explain. He would have continued but Yang approached from a room at the back. She wore the same clothes he saw her wearing during the day. She spoke up when she saw him.

“Oh! Hey Jaune, I see you and Ruby have met. Cute bunny!” she said while smirking.

“He’s- Ugh never mind. I think it’s cool. I entered like 50 box tops for this!”

Ruby immediately snickered and raised her hands to her mouth. A failed effort to try and stop herself from laughing at a stranger.

Yang freely laughed with her sister, having no such inhibitions.

“Ruby this is Jaune, we met today and he seemed cool so I thought I’d take him out dancing. But now I dunno…”

Jaune blanched.

“I’m kidding, of course. I thought you seemed nice and I wanted to check the place out. Ruby is too young for clubs-”, Ruby’s laughter subsided, “and I didn’t want to go by myself. Sorry if that seems a little rude, but I didn’t think you’d mind an excuse to come out with a pretty girl, am I right?”

“I suppose it’s a fair trade. If you’re ready want to head off now?” Jaune asked.

“Yeah sure, give me a sec. Ruby, don’t go wandering out tonight. I know you’re a badass and all that but I saw on TV that there have been some muggings and robberies near here. I don’t want to risk it if I don’t have to. I won’t be out all night; Jaune will get tired of trying to keep up with me on the dance floor after all.” Yang stated.

Seeing that as the intentional second dig, Jaune decided it was time for some revenge.

“That’s right, and even if she is I’m in room 107 so you can always come to collect her.”

Yang turned to look at Jaune in a hurry, before looking back at her younger sister. By this point, she was turning a strong shade of pink.

Taking pity on Ruby, Jaune added, “I’m kidding Ruby, She’ll be home in a few hours or so. Come on Yang let's go, we’ve joked around enough at your sister’s expense.”

In Yang’s confusion, it was Ruby who piped up, “Have fun with your ‘boyfriend’ tonight Yang. Nice meeting you Jaune.” Ruby then shoved her sister out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Yang pointed a look at Jaune, “Didn’t pick you for the vengeful type… But I guess turnabout is fair play. Ruby’s not stupid so I’m sure she will be fine. Let’s go.”

Together the two headed off down the road. As they walked they exchanged some light conversation about what they got up to at the ends of their days. the conversation ground to a halt as the blonde pair arrived in front of a familiar building.

“This is the nightclub you wanted to visit?” Jaune asked.

“I know it doesn’t look like much from the outside, but I’ve heard this is one of the biggest clubs in Vale. Come on let’s check out the inside.” Yang said while continuing into the building.

_Business is finished with Junior, if I don’t bring it up again I’m sure he won’t. I’m just here to dance and have a good night out, it’d be bad for business if anything happened right? Right._

While heading inside, Jaune let Yang gush over the setup of the building. He let her dominate the conversation, piping in occasionally. That way he couldn’t give out the fact he had been to this very establishment not 20 minutes earlier.

Eventually, when the two stopped talking about how cool the place was Jaune decided to ask. “Do you want a drink of anything? I can see if they’ll serve me and I can get you something.”

“Yeah, get me a strawberry sunrise, no ice. Oh! Get me one of those little umbrellas too.” Yang replied.

So Jaune took off to the bar, he didn’t spot Junior so this worked for him. He asked for Yang’s drink and just a coke for himself. He didn't trust himself to not make a fool of himself by not knowing his limits. Navigating his way through the crowd, Jaune noticed a few things had changed since his last visit. Namely, there were more people on the dance floor. Everyone who wasn’t nursing a drink had their hands in the air. Moving in time with the music that Jaune could feel with his entire body. The floor was littered with the broken glass and liquid of spilled drinks.

Somehow managing to keep the condition of Yang’s drink up to par, he handed it over to his partner for the night. Already her appearance and her moves had attracted the attention of the men nearby, and even a few of the women.

“Thanks!” Yang yelled, pushing her voice to be heard over the sound of the music.

Jaune had never been to a club. Luckily, being raised with seven sisters had its perks. He had developed the moves required to not embarrass him straight away. He observed Yang and tried to drink when she drank, and move when she moved. Together the pair spent their time working up a sweat that matched that of the rest of the crowd’s. Throughout their interactions, Jaune’s eyes never left the form of his partner. Partly because he thought it rude to be looking around when he was there with her, but mostly because he couldn’t will himself to.

“Still think I can’t keep up?” Jaune shouted.

“I’m impressed lover boy, you can actually dance!” Yang shouted back.

Over time the two decided to take a break from the dancing, cool down, and enjoy another drink between them. They found themselves a seat off to the side where the crowd had thinned and the music wasn’t quite as loud.

“This was fun Yang, I needed something like this. It was a long series of flights to get here.” Jaune began, “Told you I wouldn’t slow you down tonight though, didn’t I?”

“I suppose you did. I probably should be getting back though. I’m technically supposed to be looking after Ruby while we are in Vale. Speaking of, Jaune, could I ask you for a favor tomorrow night?” Yang asked.

“A favor?”

“Yeah, I need to do something tomorrow afternoon, by myself. It could take a while, longer than we took here today. Do you think I could get you to just spend time with Ruby? You guys can do whatever. Go out and do some shopping or you two can sit in our room and play video games. I just need someone I can trust to watch over her for a few hours, and you seem the trustworthy type.”

“Yeah sure, I can do that. What time?” Jaune inquired.

“I’ll text you when I leave, but it will be before sundown if that helps?”

“Yeah sure, that’s fine.”

“Great! But be warned, if anything happens to my sister, there’ll be trouble.” Yang struck Jaune with a killer stare, before breaking it a few seconds later to laugh, “Just kidding, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Come on, let’s head out of here.”

The two headed out of the club and made their way home. Jaune dropped Yang off at her room. His politeness earned him a sarcastic swooning. Back in his room, sleep came to him swiftly after the day he had had.


	3. The Journey Begins III

The morning started when Jaune’s eyes were assaulted by the sun coming through his room’s curtains. His morning ritual had been thrown off lately due to being stuck in bullheads and airships nearly 24/7, fighting the urge to spill his guts all the while. So being able to regain some semblance of his normality and wake up at dawn was welcome. Early training with his father meant you wanted to be awake as fast as possible. So straight into the shower, he went. Then was breakfast, the food he bought from the bakery. Finally, he strapped on his gear and filled his pockets with everything important. At last, he was ready for the day.

_Between the transcripts yesterday and all my travel expenses, I’m running a bit low on Lien. Still, I should see what I can get put together. I don’t know what’s involved in Beacon’s initiation. It’s a huntsman school so I guess hunting Grimm. Some armor wouldn’t go astray I guess. I’ll go hit up the blacksmith._

Jaune arrived at the smith’s shop that Yang had pointed out to him on the tour yesterday. From the outside, it didn’t look like any of the smiths he saw back in Domremy. Back there, a smith wouldn't be working on fancy weapons and armor. They likely would be working on tools for the farmers, shoes for the horses, nails, and other simple items too. The forge would be out the front smoking away while the coals burned and he worked where people could see him. But this place, it looked like it could be just one of the many other stores in the area, whether that be clothing or dust.

Heading inside Jaune noted that the floor inside was clean. Free of the usual dirt and other miscellaneous particles that would normally be found. The whole room was quite clean. The many items on the wall and in glass displays proved this is a blacksmith’s store though. A good one too. There were several mannequins with suits of armor. They ranged from heavy full plate down to impressively crafted leathers. This shop catered to huntsman too, as it wasn’t just melee arms, but guns too. Jaune didn’t have the widest knowledge about firearms. He spotted a wide range of pieces that he did recognize though. Mainly handguns which the militia or soldiers would carry.

“See anything you like the looks of sir?” A voice from the front of the store inquired.

Jaune turned to address the man who spoke to him and he saw an image he was much more familiar with. The man was taller than he, with a large frame. What caught Jaune’s attention was the fact that this man was not clean and immaculate like the store he stood in. This man was wearing a leather apron that covered his entire front. Both the apron and the man’s face and arms were lined with a thin film of soot and ash.

“Lots actually, but I’m mainly window shopping if that’s okay? I did have one question though if that’s okay?” Jaune asked the man.

“Of course its okay, how can I help?” He responded.

“I was wondering exactly how much it would cost to get some armor on a similar level as this.” Jaune asked while placing Crocea Mors and its’ sheathe onto the table. “Beacon’s initiation is in a few days and I’m a bit lightly equipped.”

The man, after asking permission, took Crocea Mors, drew the blade, and held it in his hands. He didn’t appear to be looking over it particularly closely.

“You’ve got yourself a right family heirloom here if I had to guess. Hasn’t been sharpened in a while, but this is a mighty fine blade you’ve brought me today. If you want armor that would be on the same level as this it would cost a pretty penny. I wouldn’t offer anything worth less than a few thousand lien, depending on what type of armor you were chasing.” He explained surprising Jaune with the level of detail.

Jaune nearly choked at the figure. Several thousand lien and that was probably for the lighter stuff. He had hoped for a good piece of breastplate, maybe even half plate if it was possible. One benefit that he was trying to keep in mind was that the smith at least thought his blade was high quality.

“How could you tell that much from just a glance, you even knew it was a family heirloom,” Jaune asked.

"I’m surprised you aren’t familiar with this, being that you’re going to a huntsman academy soon. Most places teach this in the second year of prep school.”

He handed Crocea Mors back before continuing, “Focus on the blade, close your eyes if it helps. Whatever state of mind you use when you observe your status, try to use that on the blade itself.”

Jaune had never heard of observing anything other than one’s status. He had heard that a willing participant could allow their status to be seen by others. But objects? That was a first.

Jaune focused on Crocea Mors for a few moments.

You have unlocked the **[Observe]** Skill.

 **[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

Jaune jumped at the small notification within his mind. Jaune was left in a state of confusion for a brief moment. His head swam as he gained a rush of knowledge that seemed to just appear in his mind. It was as if he had always known the information. It didn’t take long before the realization struck.

“A skill!” Jaune exclaimed.

The man who had taught Jaune his very first skill laughed loudly.

“That’s right my boy, there are more skills out there than just the ones you aim at the Grimm. Those of us with Artisan-Type skills rarely get something that can be used in combat. But for a blacksmith like me, these are worth a lot more. Skills that involve the shaping and tempering of metal are par for the course.”

Jaune looked at the man with admiration. So many years spent training with his father to learn combat skills to no avail. But just a few minutes with this man and Jaune had his very first skill. Not wanting to waste another second, Jaune immediately refocused.

 **[Crocea Mors – Long Sword]**   
Deal 10% of your Strength as damage on a successful strike. (Based on sword skill)   
Unknown   
Unknown

Jaune once again was faced with confusion.

_Is 10% of my strength a lot? Surely a clean hit would cut through flesh regardless of if I had 10 strength or 100. But what about aura and for that matter, what about the Grimm?_

There were too many questions for Jaune to ask, questions that maybe he could find the answers to at Beacon. For now, he chose to bask in the knowledge that he had finally unlocked his first skill.

“Hey uh, sir, I’ll be honest with you, I’m too strapped for cash at the moment to afford the armor at the prices you mentioned.”

Jaune paused for a moment to examine the reaction of the man. When no looks of impatience or annoyance came he continued.

“I want you to know I’m really grateful for teaching me this skill. I’ve been told you make the best stuff, so I promise to come back here in the future if I pass the initiation. I’ll tell anyone who is looking for a place about you as well. So I’ll be sure to make this up to you then, that’s a promise and an Arc never goes back on his word.”

Jaune put forward his hand, the man took it and Jaune shook it. The man had earned his respect. Frankly, he had earned the entire Artisan-Class Jaune’s admiration.

“Well, I suppose if you’re promising to be an exclusive customer, I can offer you a parting gift before you leave.” The shop owner said.

The man reached over the counter, waving away any attempts at protesting that Jaune made.

“This here is a whetstone, I’m sure you can work out how to use it and what it does now. Consider it a freebie for your patronage.”

The man shone a giant smile and slapped Jaune on the back.

“Now get out of here, I do still have work to do after all.”

Jaune laughed; saying goodbye and expressing his gratitude. Once outside he wasted no time in using his skill again.

 **[Common Whetstone]**   
100 uses.   
1 use can improve the cutting edge of a bladed weapon, increasing damage by 10%.

Giving his blade a test once over with the whetstone, Jaune was pleased to see it now had the [Sharp] condition. It would now deal 11% of his strength for the next 24 hours. He didn’t plan on fighting any Grimm between now and tomorrow. Even so, it still brought a smile to Jaune’s face that lasted the entire trip home.

Jaune spent the rest of his afternoon experimenting with his new skill, like a child with a new toy.

He observed a multitude of random objects he found in the kitchen. From this series of experiments, he learned one interesting fact. Improvised weapons such as cutlery or blunt objects did not count as weapons. They didn't list any damage or have a rarity.

 **[Stove]**   
Makes use of fire dust to create flames with which to cook food.

 **[Fridge]**   
Contains a combination of lightning dust and ice dust which it uses to keep cool.

 **[The Kitchen Sink]**   
It’s a kitchen sink.

In hindsight, observing the kitchen sink was probably the definition of excessive. Still, learning that via observation he could discover sources of dust to use in a pinch was handy. Not that he would know how to use it even if he did salvage the electronics.

The final experiment he performed was the most important yet. He had observed his sword at the shop, but he realized that he had neglected to observe his sheathe.

 **[Crocea Mors – Shield]**   
Reduce incoming damage of a blocked strike by 10% of your strength. (Based on shield skill)   
Unknown

Jaune wasn’t too surprised to see there were certain functions of his shield that remained hidden from him. His long sword had been the same. It was mildly interesting to him to see that his sheathe shared the same name as the blade itself. He assumed the item was technically a set due to its status as an heirloom. It was also interesting that even though he left it in sheathe form, it was recognized as a shield.

Jaune filed away everything he had learned for later consideration, including the small bits about damage that he didn’t understand. Before he could spend too much time thinking about it though he received the text from Yang. So he strapped the blade to his side and headed out.

Jaune knocked on their door when he arrived and just like last time it was Ruby who answered the door.

“Yes- Oh! Yang isn’t here at the moment she just went out.” Ruby explained with a smile.

“Uhh actually I’m not here for Yang, she asked me to hang out with you for a few hours.” Jaune responded.

“She got me a babysitter!?” Ruby’s smile was gone in an instant.

Jaune knew she was younger than him, but he didn’t consider her a child. Yang seemed to imply she was more than capable of looking after herself.

“Hey look, I don’t think it’s like that. Yang said she knew you could look after yourself; I’m just here to hang out. She said that she made a promise to look after you so it’s probably more for her benefit.”

If he was honest, this was pushing it; Yang did come off as the protective type, even if she did say she trusted her sister.

“Besides, I’m new here, and pretty much everyone is a stranger. My mother always said that a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet so… If it’s okay with you, I’d like to hang out?”

Ruby looked over Jaune. She was no doubt looking for signs of deception in what he just said before she stepped aside to let him in. She was more than capable of giving Jaune the rundown of where everything was. Cups and mugs, bathroom, and so forth. Jaune of course made no mention of the fact that all the rooms were identical. But it wasn’t long at all before the two were standing around with nothing to talk about. Fortunately for Jaune, it was Ruby who broke the ice.

“Soooo… I have this thing.” She casually stated, before pulling out a weapon as large as Jaune was and wielding it with a single hand.

It was black and red, matching her outfit and hair. It had a wicked curved blade at the front and a long handle. It made for a very imposing weapon. Especially when juxtaposed with the very unimposing girl.

“W-Woah… is that a scythe!?” He asked, jumping back from the girl as she deployed it.

“It’s also a customizable, high impact velocity sniper rifle.” She responded proudly.

“A what-?” He had no idea what those words meant when strung together like that.

“It’s also a gun.” She answered while pulling back the bolt, loading a round.

“Oh. That’s cool!”

“So what’ve you got? Ruby asked.

She went through the process of unloading the round and putting it back in the magazine. As she was taking care of the gun, her eyes were sparkling. She eyed off the weapon strapped to his belt.

“Oh uh, I have this sword.”

He drew the blade with his right hand.

“Ooh.”

“And I have this shield too.”

He unfolded his sheathe into its shield form, donning it on his left.

“So what do they do?” Ruby asked.

She ran her hands over the shield. In doing so managing to find and press the button in charge of deploying and un-deploying it.

The shield popped off his arm, bouncing around as he tried to catch it.

“Well... the shield gets smaller… So… when I get tired of carrying it, I can put it away.” He explained, trying to sound confident.

“But… Wouldn’t it weigh the same?” Ruby asked.

Jaune could hear the doubt beginning to seep into her words.

“Yeah, it does…” Jaune answered, having been dealt the final blow.

Ruby looked back over to her weapon. She ran her hands along the handle and over the sights, “Well, I’m kind of a dork when it comes to weapons. I guess I did go a little overboard designing it.”

Jaune was shocked, “Wait. You made that?” He asked.

“Of course! All students at Signal make their weapons. Didn’t you make yours?” Ruby inquired.

Jaune thought back to how he had left the house. He had technically stolen this after all.

“It’s a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war.” He half lied.

“Sounds more like a family heirloom to me!” Ruby encouraged. “Well, I like it! Few people have an appreciation for the classics these days.”

Jaune stood a fraction taller, “Yeah. The classics.”

He then thought for a moment. Ruby’s weapon was impressive. More impressive than anything else he had had the chance to play with this afternoon.

“Ruby, I don’t know if this is rude to ask but could I observe your weapon? I um… I only got the skill today, I wasn’t taught where I learned and had to find out through someone else.” Jaune asked hesitantly. Jaune knew what the rules were for observing another person’s status. But is it the same for their belongings? The smith had asked permission after all. “If it’s a problem just forget I said anything.”

“If you know the observe skill you must be training to be a huntsman! Are you going to Beacon? Are you?” This topic had piqued Ruby’s interest. “Here, go ahead!”

Ruby handed over her scythe, it was large, but not as heavy as he had expected. The weighting of it was far different from his sword. It made him wonder how the small girl could control her swings. Regardless, Jaune observed the scythe.

 **[Crescent Rose – Sniper-Scythe]**   
Deal 30% of your strength as damage on a successful strike. (Based on scythe skill)   
Can increase damage dealt by 30% of ammunition’s recoil.   
Capable of firing dust rounds.   
Unknown   
Unknown

Jaune was impressed; this weapon dealt triple the damage of his long sword.

He was curious enough about the two hidden features to ask, “What are the last two if you don’t mind?”

“Oh, right I didn’t learn those until my scythe skill was a high enough level so I suppose you can’t see it. I can increase the damage of my strikes by my dexterity if my movement speed is at a certain level. It takes a bit of good timing to get it to activate though, and also I can use the recoil from my shots to enhance my movement. It even lets me move vertically because I’m pretty light.”

Ruby paused for a moment as she realized what she said; she blushed lightly before saying “I’m growing though. I drink all my milk.”

She was satisfied with saying that as if it resolved all her problems in some way.

Jaune took note that the features of her weapon weren’t hidden because of some inability to observe them. But because they required certain conditions to be fulfilled. Almost like the weapon itself had its’ own skills that needed to be unlocked.

Conversation between the two flowed much more easily after that. Ruby was energetic, highly so, and so different from her sister. Where Yang felt like this impressive female that he had to try and impress. Ruby rapidly began to sit somewhere between a childhood friend and little sister. It was comfortable. Plus, since Jaune thought he had already embarrassed himself with his weapon, he didn’t feel like he had to put on a facade of confidence. He was okay to be, as Ruby put it when describing herself, ‘A bit of a dork’.

It turned out that Ruby was a big fan of video games. She got Jaune set up with one on his scroll that the two played for a good hour or so. Jaune had never played Lethal Action before. As a result, he was fiercely stomped into submission. Even when Ruby gave herself handicaps such as 'if she takes damage she loses' Jaune didn’t manage to squeeze out even a single win.

Eventually, the pair decided it was getting a bit cramped in the room, and so the pair headed out. Ruby mentioned a dust shop she wanted to visit so she could check out a few of the catalogs. Since Jaune had no better suggestions he decided to go with that.

It didn’t take long before they arrived at the shop. In nice gold print above the store’s entrance was its’ name in gold letters, ‘From Dust ‘til Dawn’.

As they entered they greeted the old man who ran the store. To Jaune, he looked somewhat familiar but he couldn’t place it. Before he could work out where he had seen the man ruby pulled on his sleeve.

“I get kinda lost when I’m reading through some of these, do you mind if I just put on my headphones and zone out for a while?” Ruby asked.

“Oh uh yeah sure, no worries, I’ll just look around or something,” Jaune responded.

Ruby headed off to the back of the store, becoming hidden by the rows of displays that were taller than she was. Jaune spent a small amount of time looking through the different types of dust. He had never actually had a proper introduction to what all the possible types were. But he knew more or less what dust is. He recognized fire, ice, and lightning dust straight away. Having seen them mentioned as part of his observations within his hostel kitchen. The earth, water, and wind dusts weren’t too surprising as it went with the whole ‘forces of nature’ thing that dust was famous for. Gravity dust he had heard in passing when he was on the airships. Something about their engines. Combustion dust was one that Ruby had mentioned on their way over here. She used it as a primer for her Crescent Rose’s ammunition. But even with all those he did recognize, there were so many.

It didn’t take long for Jaune to lose interest. The entertainment gained from seeing dust for the first time soon faded away. In the end, they were just small crystals that sat there not doing anything until used. So he decided to shadow Ruby and read over her shoulder if she would let him. Before he could get her attention, the bell above the shop door went off. It alerted Jaune to the arrival of more customers. Looking over one of the shelves he saw a well-dressed man in a white suit, fit with bowler hat and cane. He also saw that this man was accompanied by several of Junior’s men. To make matters worse, these men weren’t wielding axes like the thugs in the alley. They had what appeared to be swords of some type strapped to their waist. Jaune was cautious after his experience with the men in red, so he decided to listen in.

“Do you have any idea, how hard it is to find a dust shop open this late?” The well-dressed man asked.

One of Junior’s men drew a gun on the shop keeper, causing him to immediately put his hands in the air,

“Please, just take the money and leave!” he pleaded.

“Shhh, calm down, we’re not here for your money.” The well-dressed man responded, “Grab the dust.”

Jaune began to work his way over to Ruby. She was still lost in her own world reading and this could get messy very quickly. Unfortunately, since he was trying to sneak, one of Junior’s men spotted Ruby before Jaune could alert her.

“Alright kid, put your hands where I can see em.” He demanded. Ruby, due to the music, did not hear him.

Jaune watched in muted horror as the man drew his sword and stepped closer.

“Hey, I said hands in the air. You got a death wish or something?” The man asked, pulling Ruby to turn and face him.

Jaune quietly drew his sword, leaving his shield un-deployed for the time being. He didn’t attack yet, the men were here for dust so perhaps they could still get out of this peacefully.

Ruby took off her headphones when directed to by the man,

“Yes?” she asked.

“I said, put your hand in the air, now!” The henchman was getting impatient.

Ruby looked to her side spotting Jaune, “Jaune, is he… Robbing me?”

Jaune looked at her in shock. Partly because she had just openly given away his position while he was trying to be sneaky. But mostly because this girl seemed completely unaware of the position she was in. Jaune looked to the man who was looking at Jaune with just about as much confusion on his face.

Both men answered in unison, “Yes!”

“Ohhhh.”

There was a brief second of quiet. One where Jaune hoped that she would realize what was going on. Then the two could try to leave without causing a scene. Ruby then proceeded to kick the man through the row of displays, causing him to land in a heap at the front of the store.

_Oh no._

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 1**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 18**

**Fortitude: 25**

**Dexterity: 15**

**Aura: Locked**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]  
** Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.


	4. The Journey Begins IV

Jaune barely had time to react before Ruby practically flew out the store’s front window. The next idiot to come up and wave his weapon around her received a flying dropkick for his efforts. The young girl stood up, drawing her massive weapon and twirling it around. It was as if it were a cheerleader’s baton rather than the 30-pound instrument of kick-ass that it was.

Sensing his moment, Jaune leaped out the window to join Ruby. While he acted, the rest of the robbers stood within the doorway and stared at Ruby. He quickly drew his shield and sword, ready to protect his new friend.

“Be careful Jaune, these guys don’t have any aura. When I tackled that guy I could feel it. We don’t want to hurt them... More than we have to.” Ruby explained.

“Got it.” He answered.

The standstill was broken when the orange-haired man spoke out, “Well? Get her.”

The remaining four men charged out, weapons in hand, charging Ruby. The first was taken out within seconds as Ruby vaulted over her scythe to plant both feet into the man’s face. The kick knocked him several feet back and rendering him unconscious. The next two approached while she had her back turned during the landing. But as if she had eyes in the back of her head, she immediately fires in the opposite direction. she used the recoil to spin Crescent Rose into an uppercut that sent the closest man flying into the air. This was followed up with a full-body spin that brought the backside of the scythe down onto the second man.

Ruby’s style of combat formed a no-go-zone. If you got too close without knowing exactly how to move you were just as likely to get taken out as the attackers. So Jaune who was not as fast or quick to react stood nearby waiting for his moment. It was granted to him when Ruby was forced to dodge backward. The remaining man had drawn a rifle and began firing on her position.

“Watch out!” Jaune shouted.

He ran forward, shield first, and tackled the man into the wall of the shop. The man cracked the back of his skull against the wall in the process. Jaune stepped back, letting the man slump downwards. He watched as the only standing opponent calmly walked outside. the man had positioned himself in a way that separated Ruby and himself.

Jaune was closer to the man now than he was earlier, allowing him the ability to read the man’s class; thief.

_Fitting..._

“Well, you were worth every cent, truly.” The man sarcastically quipped to his now incapacitated followers. “Well, kiddos, I think we can all say it’s been an eventful evening. As much as I’d like to stick around, I’m afraid this is where we part ways.” The man spoke calmly, as if unfazed by his current predicament.

He then raised his cane, pointing it at Ruby and causing the base to flick up, forming a scope. Smirking, he turned his aim towards Jaune.

_Click_

Jaune barely had time to react, only managing to shift his shield in front of himself. He heard Ruby scream out right before something collided with his shield.

_Kaboom_

Ruby rushed over to Jaune. He had fortunately managed to block it fully. Withstanding the force thanks to his decent strength and fortitude. He was alive, but his whole body ached, and his ears were ringing so loud he couldn’t hear much else.

After a quick check, Ruby realized Jaune was alive, conscious, and mostly unharmed. She immediately began looking around to find where the man had gone. She spotted him climbing up the ladder that was built onto a building not too far away. She immediately took off after him, firing Crescent Rose to launch herself onto the roof of the building.

_Yang is so going to kill me._

Jaune forced himself to stand and make chase. He didn’t have any special tricks so he climbed the ladder slowly. His whole body still aching from the blow he took earlier.

Jaune was moving as fast as his body would let him, but he knew that something was happening up there. He heard the sound of a bullhead starting up. Which was then followed by the sound he recognized as the man’s weapon firing and an explosion. Fearing what was happening to Ruby, Jaune managed to push himself into a sprint to reach the top. Bursts of adrenaline serving to dull the pain he was feeling at the time.

Fortunately, when Jaune reached the top, he spotted Ruby unharmed. In front of her stood an older woman with a purple cape that seemed to move on its own. This woman swung what looked like a riding crop. The action caused missiles of purple energy to fly towards the bullhead and knock it around. She then summoned a storm cloud to strike at the vehicle with crystals of ice.

Jaune managed to tear his eyes away from the spectacle to race up to Ruby.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

Jaune still couldn’t fully hear what she had said, but she looked okay and her response was short, he hoped it meant ‘I’m fine’.

Jaune looked back to see a new figure standing in the doorway of the bullhead. Female based on the shape of her silhouette, and wearing clothes that burned like hot coals. She fired something at the blonde woman who was currently engaged in combat. Whatever it was fell apart as it crashed against the force field of purple energy that the woman raised. Unfortunately, the embers of the projectile that fell around her feet exploded. The roof they were standing on remained in one piece. Though several pieces of rubble flew around as an upper layer of the concrete was shattered. Their ally animated the rubble and formed a large spear which she fired back at the ship.

The shipped pulled up and away from the incoming spear, causing it to only glance off the roof. In response, the single projectile broke into 3 snake-like shapes. They struck and grabbed at the ship from all angles. With a roar of frustration, the woman within the ship created a shockwave of energy. Everything that surrounded the ship was reduced to ash.

Seeing an opportunity to help, Ruby motioned to step in to help.

_Not again you don’t_

He quickly grabbed her hand, stopping her.

With this lull in conflict, the bullhead had time to put distance between them and get away. Ruby looked at Jaune for a moment, before turning her gaze to the woman who had jumped in to help them.

Ruby looked at the woman who had saved them with her eyes popping out of her head. Jaune didn’t know what Ruby had said to the woman. But she did not look impressed.

**/-/**

Jaune had been waiting in the room he had been brought to for quite some time, enough time to stew in his thoughts.

_Am I in trouble?_

_They can probably find out who I am, what if they tell my parents. What if I go to jail!_

_What if they lock me up, what if they lock Ruby up! She’s too young to go to prison!_

Fortunately, the doors to his room opened, interrupting his panic. Through them stepped the woman who had helped them and an older man with gray hair. This man’s entire being screamed sophistication. From his elaborate cane to his dark spectacles and green suit, he drew Jaune’s attention. Even when standing next to the woman who had protected Ruby and him, it was clear who was in charge.

Jaune hadn’t had the time to make subtle observations towards the end of that fight as a result of his shell shock. But now that he was alone in a room with the two strangers he noted that both of them held prestige classes. Classes that were a cut above the rest, and rare too. Less than a percent of the population held prestige classes. When he realized he was in a room with a sage and a high sorceress, he knew he was dealing with two very powerful people.

“Hello Mr. Arc, how has your night been so far?” The man asked while taking a seat in front of him.

_He already knows who I am! I have to plead my case before it’s too late._

"We didn’t start it, they attacked us! They tried to rob that store and then they threatened Ruby and-"

The words spewed out of Jaune’s mouth, but he was cut off as the man raised a hand to stop him.

“Worry not Mr. Arc; we know more or less exactly what happened.”

He placed a scroll that was currently playing a clip of Jaune taking an explosion to the face.

“How are your injuries? Adrenaline can be a useful thing but it does make it difficult to gauge our health. Please let us know if you need to visit the hospital.”

_Wait, I’m not in trouble?_

Jaune’s panic was beginning to slow enough for him to start thinking with an ounce of rationality.

“I’m fine sir. A bit sore, I was worried about Ruby getting injured. Her sister wouldn’t forgive me if I let anything happen after I promised to look after her.” Jaune explained.

“Do you know them well then?” The man asked.

“In honesty sir, I don’t, I met Ruby’s sister yesterday when I arrived in town to apply for Beacon.”

“I see, and tell me, do you know who I am?”

Jaune knew that whenever this question was asked it was by someone very important. Or at least someone who thought they were. Noting once again their classes he assumed it was the former and decided to play it safe.

“With respect sir, I don’t. I’m from Mistral and I didn’t watch much television growing up. Celebrities aren't something I know a lot about.”

“Well, Mr. Arc. I am the headmaster of Beacon Academy. You can call me Professor Ozpin or Sir as you have been. That’s fine too.” He stated.

“Wait... Really? I mean- Uhhh of course you are, you wouldn’t say it otherwise. I mean, what I’m trying to say is. Sir, could you please let me apply for Beacon? I don’t have my transcripts on me, but I promise I could get them for you. I know it’s a late application but it took a long time to get here and it was kind of a late decision.” Jaune spoke quickly, stumbling to get his words out.

“That would depend on your answer to the following if you don’t mind indulging me in a few questions.”

Jaune did not and nodded to say as much.

“Tell me, Mr. Arc, why can’t I see your class?” the professor asked.

“Well, uh, I experienced some… bullying, I guess, sir. My dad knows a guy who has a sister with a skill for hiding her class like an illusion.” He lied. “I’m not ashamed of my class, but I prefer not to tell people what it is and let my actions speak for me instead. I know Ruby made a better showing of her combat skills tonight, but I’ve worked very hard to get to where I am.”

“I see. Tell me, do you think your actions tonight have spoken for you well?” the headmaster asked, smiling behind his clasped hands.

_Wait he actually bought that?_

“I… I think they do, sir. That guy, he was strong, stronger than I am, I know that. But I like to think that anyone can be outclassed by a stronger opponent at any time. I know I put myself into an awkward position separated from Ruby who was the better fighter. But I did it to stop her from getting shot.” Jaune paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. “And I would do it again, even risking taking that shot again, if it meant keeping a friend safe.”

It was a tense few moments for Jaune who had stated his piece and stood his ground before the questioning. Tenser still when the man stood up from his chair and began to walk towards the door. He paused by the exit.

“I’ll be expecting to see those transcripts with you when you turn up for initiation. Miss Goodwitch here is quite strict about having all our affairs in order, Mr. Arc. You wouldn’t like to see what happens when you disappoint her, trust me.” He stated.

The pair of professors left the door open behind them as they left, Jaune was free to go.

_Wait. When I turn up for initiation? I’m accepted!?_

He raced out the door to see the pair walking away down the hall, Jaune shouted out, “Thank you!” as they left him behind.

Looking around, Jaune noticed he wasn’t alone. Standing in the doorway of the room next to his own stood Ruby.

“What happened with you Ruby, are you in any trouble?” Jaune asked.

“I was invited to Beacon.” She whispered. “Jaune, he invited me to Beacon, I’m going to be a huntress!”

Ruby ran up and hugged him, needing some form of outlet to her excitement. Jaune in his elation returned it. It wasn’t long before the two realized the position they were in and separated with an awkward laugh.

“I suppose… we should head home now? This probably counts as enough excitement to warrant staying home now.” Jaune asked.

Ruby merely nodded still in her own little world. The two began heading home, finding their way with Ruby’s directions.

_Crash_

A window of a building nearby had smashed as something flew through it. Before them laid Junior, and that had been the window of his nightclub. He was sprawled out on the asphalt in front of them. No longer conscious and developing some nasty bruises. Surely it would've taken a real monster to manhandle a man of his stature.

“Yang? Is that you?” Ruby asked from beside him.

“Oh! Hey sis!” Yang responded with a smile as if none of this was happening.

Jaune made his excuses to leave as fast as possible, leaving the sisters to talk. He didn't want to be around to see Junior when he woke up. He also didn't want to be around in case Yang turned on him for what happened tonight.

After a few hours had passed, Jaune headed back out into the city. Junior’s club was still in a state of excessive disrepair. The man himself was no longer sprawled out in front of the club though, so that was a good sign.

Heading inside Jaune realized that what had occurred here was more than just a simple brawl. Almost every piece of glass within the building had been completely shattered. The floor had been fractured. No one would be dancing here for quite some time. Not until these repairs got finished. With the state that the men who work here are in, the repairs probably won’t even be started for quite some time.

Looking at them now, it couldn’t be clearer why Ruby had pointed out these men having no aura. The healthiest of them had been left limping. The less fortunate though were completely bedridden. Injured to the point that the risk of moving them was too high. Instead, they were simply made comfortable wherever they had landed.

Cutting short his observations, Jaune headed towards Junior’s office at the back of the club. Jaune knocked on the door.

“How many times do I gotta tell you guys to stop knocking and just come in when you’ve got something to say?! Get in here already!” Junior shouted out.

Jaune jumped at the sudden outburst before letting himself in.

“Oh. It’s just you, here. Take this and leave, I’ve got too much to deal with right now.” Junior placed an envelope on the desk, which Jaune approached and took.

“Thanks, Junior, I’ll uh, leave you to it then.”

Jaune considered asking about the men who were involved in the attempted robbery. Jaune considered how many able-bodied men he must have lost tonight. He decided against bringing up the fact that Jaune aided in disabling a few more.

Jaune rushed back to his room. He didn't want to waste any more time out in the streets where something else could happen. Somehow he had managed to do almost everything he had set out to do. Sure he had failed to get any armor. He would be making do with nothing more than his shield, sword, and the clothes on his back. But he had managed to get transcripts and permission to apply from the headmaster. That was a victory in his books.

Tomorrow he would take the bullheads to Beacon for the introduction ceremony. He would finally see if his training thus far would be enough to get him started in becoming a hunter. Or, learn that he would be stuck at the level of street thugs and wooden sword practice forever. It took a long time to fall asleep. His anxieties forcing his mind into overdrive.

When the morning came, Jaune was meticulous with his preparation. He cataloged his belongings while repacking them. He resharpened his sword. He even observed his equipment and himself. Just to make sure nothing had changed without his realization. Everything would go perfectly so long as he stayed mindful.

He handed in his room keys and boarded the bullhead to Beacon. The buildings he had started to become familiar with shrunk as the bullhead flew off.

It was around this time that Jaune realized his fatal flaw. The instrument of his undoing despite all his careful planning and preparation.

He had forgotten to buy some medicine for his motion sickness.

Holding his stomach he rushed around searching desperately for a bag or a bin. Anything to stop him from ejecting his breakfast all over the floor.

“Oh hey, it’s Jaune! Hey Jaune, what are you up to?”

It seemed Jaune had managed to run past Yang and her sister too. Not wanting to be rude, he turned in their direction and gave them a wave.

He then immediately threw up right in front of them.

**/-/**

Jaune rushed off the bullhead as soon as it landed, thanking the earth for existing. After taking the time to recover his senses, Jaune finally took the time to look around and what he saw was amazing. Unlike the city, Beacon was alive with nature. Trees and grass in every direction. The green terrain highlighted the ceramic whites of the academy’s architecture. The landing bay was situated near the cliffside. Below which were the docks for aquatic vehicles. A long wide walkway led to the academy’s main buildings. The most prominent building being the tower. It stood above everything, adorned with green spheres of light. No doubt where the academy got its name.

Following the walkway guided Jaune to an intimidating main doorway. The door opened into an amphitheater that was surrounded by two rings of colonnades. Many flag-adorned poles were found dotted around. They were accompanied by even more well-tended plant life. The entrance was marked with a statue. It portrayed a huntsman and huntress standing over a cowering Beowolf.

The amphitheater itself was an equally lavish sight. Several students had already congregated in front of the stage. No doubt waiting to see and hear from the headmaster as part of this ceremony. Surrounding them was a collection of seats behind a glass dome.

Jaune spotted Yang and Ruby speaking with another girl their age. The white-haired girl gesture in his direction as he did.

“-Cute boys like tall blonde and... scraggly over there!” The girl said.

_She thinks I’m cute. I’ve totally got a chance!_

In time, the trickle of students slowed down. Both Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch took the stage. With their presence alone the entire crowd quietened, eager to hear from the pair. The headmaster cleared his throat and began to speak.

“I’ll keep this brief.”

"Many of you here are under the impression that by making it here, you are fulfilling some grand prophecy or fate. You were given a gift at birth and have cultured it through training. You believe a life of combat and adventure awaits you."

"That is why many of you have come here. To hone your craft, acquire new skills, and reach new heights. No doubt when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to good. The protection of the people."

His voice enraptured the crowd and everyone watched with bated breath.

“But when I look among you, I do not see knights or wizards, I merely see children who are playing a game. You think that for one to become a hero, you need only high stats, leveled skills, and quality equipment. You assume that your time at this school will grant you this.”

“I can assure you, that while you will gain these things. What is most important is that you will be strongly reminded that life is not a game. That it is not your stats, but your efforts and your drive to succeed which will push you forward. It is up to you to take the first step.”

Having finished his short speech. Many in the crowd were left uncertain. The headmaster stepped away from the microphone, allowing Professor Goodwitch to approach.

She began to address the crowd. Granting a few short moments for the chatter caused by the headmaster’s words to subside.

“You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Understand that your place here is not earned by your performance tomorrow. But by your performance over the next 4 years. Be ready for the first trial of many.”

“You are dismissed!” Having finished the ceremony, she exited the stage.

Jaune understood what the pair was trying to say. It had been hammered into his head by his parents for years after all. He didn’t get on well with those who believe that people are no more than their class. That you are destined to become what you were born as.

They were the first to turn on Jaune, doubting him for being classless. Many of these types wound up quitting before they even began their training. They wanted to enjoy the leisure afforded to them more than they wanted to work. To judge so harshly but not be prepared to risk their own lives. It was hypocrisy at its finest.

Beacon was the same. Another mesh that filters out those who want to become heroes but lack 'the stuff'. Those who don’t want to face the day to day struggle of self-improvement. The danger involved in risking your life to save others.

Jaune was different. Whatever came his way, he would face it, as he had faced every other obstacle on his path here.

For now, Jaune had to speak with the headmaster. He did not know where exactly he was going. He hadn't dared mount the stage in front of everyone and chase them down directly. Instead, he wandered for a time looking for someone to ask directions from. As Jaune rounded a corner, he ran into something and fell backward onto the floor.

“Ho ho, my boy! What have we here? What is a potential student like yourself doing roaming the halls at a time like this?”

The man who had spoken was shorter than Jaune but much wider and quite rotund. He spoke with a booming voice that was far louder than it had any right being since the two were talking so close.

“Sorry uhh, sir? I’m looking for the headmaster. I have a late application that he needed to see.” Jaune responded while standing back on his feet.

“Excellent, simply marvelous! I’ll take you there myself my lad, and if you’re lucky you’ll be seeing much more of me in your Grimm studies class!” The stout man proclaimed.

As they walked the man regaled Jaune with a tale. A self-proclaimed true story from earlier this morning when he took out 12 Beowulf with a single swing of his axe. Jaune wasn’t sure what would be more impressive. The feat of strength if true, or the man’s talent in spinning tales. In either case, he let the man continue while he followed.

He was led to the center of the academy. Then into an elevator. When he reached the top, what he saw took his breath away. The scene from up so high was different somehow. With the different colored forests surrounding the academy, it was surreal. Almost hard to believe.

“Here you are at last! I’m afraid this cuts your private storytime short. You will have to wait until your first class with me to hear more. Although you are always welcome to seek me out in your own time if you simply must hear more!” The man, whose named Jaune learned Peter Port through his stories, exclaimed.

“Aha... Perhaps I might take you up on that professor.” Jaune lied.

“I’m sure you will, any true huntsman would see the value in my adventures and can learn lessons from them. Haha! Now inside with you, the headmaster is a busy man, but I’m sure he will be expecting you if what you told me is true.”

Jaune bid the professor goodbye and headed inside.

The room was among the most unique he had seen in his whole life. Even including those he had passed through already across the academy. The roof was formed out of a series of interlocking and perpetually moving cogs and gears. As they moved they obscured and distorted the green light coming from above.

Sitting at a large desk within this room was the headmaster. He calmly observed while Jaune looked around his office.

“It’s good to see you again Mr. Arc, I believe you have something for me.”

“Yes sir, it’s here.” Jaune handed over the transcripts, which were promptly pushed to the side of the desk.

“Good luck for tomorrow Mr. Arc, I look forward to seeing what you’re made of. I would advise that you pack your equipment into your locker. Then return to the ballroom and settle in, it’s going to be a big day.”

He finished the discussion by turning his attention to a scroll on his desk. Jaune’s scroll dinged. There was a message which contained the details for which locker was his own. It also had a map of the school with which Jaune could navigate.

Jaune wandered back through the halls following the map until he found his locker. He stowed his equipment away and returned to the ballroom. Most other students had laid out bedrolls and gotten changed into their sleepwear. Though for most of the boys this simply entailed boxer shorts and nothing else. How they could sleep comfortably he had no idea. He didn’t feel right unless he was wearing his pajamas. He had been wearing clothes like this to bed since he was young after all.

So Jaune changed into his pajamas. A full-body baby blue onesie with attached bunny slippers. He managed to remain completely oblivious to the reactions he was getting. He hummed to himself happily while laying out his bedroll. When the time came for the lights to be turned out, he slept like a baby.

**/-/**

Jaune, and many others, were woken up early in the morning just after sunrise by the sound of singing.

“It’s morning, it’s morning, it’s morning, it’s moooorning!” An orange-haired girl chirped to her barely woken friend.

The two formed a strange pair. The girl was full of beans and ready to take on the day with enthusiasm. The boy she had woken up though, was ready to go straight back to sleep if he had the chance. Which of course he didn’t with her buzzing around.

Regardless of its source, a wake-up call was a wake-up call for Jaune. So Jaune got up and packed his things, and followed the stream of other students to a cafeteria. They were serving everything you could imagine, buffet style. For those with a sweet tooth, there were pancakes with syrup and sugary cereals. For those who wanted protein, there were plenty of eggs and bacon to be had. Dozens of different juices and kinds of milk were available; they even had a mountain of cookies.

_Who has cookies for breakfast?_

Ruby then proceeded to take roughly half the pile for herself with a large glass of milk.

_Oh. Yeah, I suppose that fits._

Jaune settled for some of his favorite cereal, Pumpkin Pete’s Marshmallow Flakes. Everyone knows that it was the perfect prefight snack.

After breakfast, Jaune headed back to collect his equipment. While doing so he overheard the voice of the girl who had spoken of him yesterday.

“Great!” she exclaimed.

_Now’s my time to shine. Time to work some more of that ‘confidence’ magic._

Jaune approached the girl. She was talking with a red-haired girl equipped with some fairly expensive-looking armor. The former had her hair in a long ponytail that hung down well below her waist. She wore a dress that was white and blended into a light blue with snowflake patterns at the edge of the dress. Covering her upper body was what his sisters had taught him was a bolero jacket. The outside had the same design as her dress but the interior was a bright red. The red-haired girl stood out as she was the first girl he had seen on campus who wore armor. Not to mention hers looked more expensive than any other armor he had seen. Even on the boys. It was a golden color with reds the color of her hair splashing through. She stood a good height over the white-haired girl with an amazonian body type, tall and well built.

Stepping between the two he spoke, “You know what else is great? Me, Jaune arc. Nice to meet you.”

“Do I know you?” The white-haired girl spoke.

Stepping between them, the red-haired girl spoke, “Nice to meet you, Jaune!”

Jaune pushed her out of the road. He wanted a more face to face opportunity with the girl who ‘clearly’ admired his good looks.

“Yeah, yeah. So, I couldn’t help but overhear your fondness of me the other day.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” The white-haired girl spoke through the hand which had come up to palm her forehead.

“Don’t worry. No need to be embarrassed. I heard a few rumors about teams last night. I was thinking you and me would make a good one. What do you say?” Jaune pushed on.

“I think the teams are comprised of 4 students each, so-”

The red-haired girl tried once again to inject herself into the conversation.

_Can’t she see I’m trying to work my magic? Although… She is kind of cute._

“Well, hot-stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team.” Jaune spoke to the red-haired girl, making sure not to turn his back to the other.

This time it was the white-haired girl’s turn to push between the pair. “Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?”

“Not in the slightest Snow Angel.” Jaune responded.

Somehow he missed the look of disgust that flashed across her face at the nickname.

“This is Pyrrha.” She gestured towards the redhead.

“Hello again!” Pyrrha waved while smiling.

“Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum. She’s the four-time running winner of the Mistral Regional tournament. That's a new record.” Weiss stated. She sounded proud as if they were somehow her accomplishments she was describing.

“Ok?” Jaune responded.

“Ok? What do you mean Ok? She’s famous! She’s on the front of every Pumpkin Pete’s Marshmallow Flakes box!”

She waved her arms around in her frustration, desperate to get the point across.

“No way! That’s you? They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!” Jaune gasped, his sudden excitement overwhelming him.

Pyrrha responded, “Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly the cereal isn’t very good for you.”

_Huh? That can’t be right; it’s the cereal of champions._

“After hearing all this, do you think you’re in a position to ask her to be on your team? Frankly, I’m not sure someone classless even has the right to be here at all!” the white-haired girl berated.

For Jaune, that was a deal-breaker. The white-haired girl, now that he observed more closely, was a mage. It was very common for mages to consider themselves above others. Their ability to manipulate and control the effects of dust being a prime source of their pride. Some even claimed that warrior prestige classes were worthless. Jaune had dealt with many of that kind in the past, copping the worst of it since he didn’t even have a class.

“I… guess not. Sorry. ”

“Actually Jaune, I think it’s impressive for anyone to make it this far. I think you’d make a great leader.” Pyrrha encouraged.

For Jaune, these words of encouragement meant a lot. It was the first time someone had told him that he could do it, not that they were surprised he had made it so far. Not to mention the words were spoken by a girl who held a prestige class.

_I should’ve been paying more attention. She’s a champion. That’s the same class as Mom!_

“Oh stop it, you think so!?” Jaune asked.

The white-haired girl spoke up again, interrupting the touching moment. “Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged! How are you going to feel when he gets himself hurt out there because you convinced him to take part?”

“Weiss, don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh? He got accepted. As fellow students none of us should be held to different standards than the others, right?” Pyrrha asked.

Jaune was shocked by this second statement. A young woman who was of much higher standing than his own considered him as her equal. Jaune had never met someone like her.

“Wrong. If-“ Weiss started, before being cut off by an announcement.

“Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students to Beacon Cliff immediately.”

“Come on Pyrrha let's go.” Weiss requested.

Pyrrha looked back at Jaune before saying, “I’m sorry.”

Jaune’s confidence had taken a hit from the words that Weiss had spoken. But as low as he might have sunk as a result of them, Pyrrha’s lifted him even higher.

Jaune took off for the Beacon Cliff with all the other students.

Upon his arrival, he saw the headmaster and professor Goodwitch. They were there waiting in front of all the students who had gathered. After a few more minutes of waiting, the headmaster began to speak.

“For years you have trained to become huntsmen. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest.”

“I’m sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams.” Professor Goodwitch spoke, “Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today.”

“These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. Should any of you choose to drop out or are forced to leave, know that your teammates will be forced out with you.” The headmaster explained.

He continued, “It is in your best interest to find people you can work well with. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next 4 years.”

The headmaster paused to allow the outburst from amongst the students to calm down.

“After you’ve partnered up, you will each receive instructions on your scrolls. To summarize what you can expect. You will be staying down there for a 3-day survival exercise while fending off Grimm. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die.”

Jaune’s nerves were beginning to get the better of him as he let out a nervous laugh. He forced himself to swallow the large lump in his throat.

Ozpin continued, “You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. If you decide you are unable to continue, it is up to you to make your way back to the cliffs. Any who do so before the three days is up will fail. Any who turn up late after the 3rd day will fail. And any who die as a result of their deficiencies-”

Jaune swore the man flashed a look at him.

“-Will fail. The student pair which receives the highest combined grading will receive a reward. Are there any questions?”

Jaune immediately raised his hand, “Yeah. Uh, sir?”

The headmaster ignored him, though he did smirk, “Good! Now, everybody take your positions onto one of the launchers around you.”

Jaune’s hand slowly dropped, “Uh sir? I’ve got, um, a question…”

Slowly the students down the line from him began to take flight. Launched into the sky towards the Emerald Forest.

“So, this landing strategy thing, uh, w-what is it?” Jaune asked, desperately pushing on as his time dwindled. “Are you like dropping us off or something?”

“No. You will be falling.” The headmaster explained.

“I see, so I must’ve turned up late and missed this, but where are the parachutes?” Jaune asked as several other students took off, no parachute in sight.

“There aren’t any, you will be using your personal landing strategy.”

Jaune looked to the side as only two others remained before him.

“Good luck Mr. Arc.”

**/-/**

Jaune was flying through the air. Although, perhaps it would be more proper to say; Jaune was falling through the air. Jaune was able to catch glimpses of other students as he tumbled and flipped. While he was losing his sense of direction, the other students were in complete control. They dodged the trees flawlessly or smashed right through them in some cases.

_I think it will be the trees doing the smashing in my case. Well, I had a good run. At least I won’t go out getting eaten by Grimm._

An odd sense of calm washed over him. Acceptance perhaps, he wasn’t sure.

Then all of a sudden his rapid descent to the earth was brought to an immediate halt. Something altered his trajectory and slammed him into the trunk of a tree. It hurt, but it was better than the landing would’ve been. Looking around himself, he spotted a red and gold javelin embedded in his hood which has pinned him to the tree. He wasn’t sure who or what did this, but something did it.

“Thank you!” He shouted out to nowhere in particular.

“I’m sorry!” Someone distantly shouted back.

He couldn’t see who had shouted back, and he had no idea how long they would be before they came to collect their weapon. So Jaune struggled with it, trying to dislodge it from the tree. His awkward position and the fact it had lodged a full foot into the tree made this difficult. All he managed to do was tear a larger hole in his hoodie.

“Come on! Stupid… thing! Just. Get.” Jaune spoke both to himself and the javelin, before noticing noise below him.

Weiss had stumbled into the small clearing right below his tree and was looking right at him. He acknowledged her with a wave and an awkward laugh. Mere seconds later she turned and walked away from him.

“No, wait! Come back, who is gonna get me down from here?” He whined.

“Jaune?”

Jaune craned his neck to see to the other side and saw Pyrrha, standing below him with arms crossed.

“Do you… have any spots left on your team?” She asked with a smirk.

“Very funny.” Jaune dryly responded.

The two looked at each other and shared a small laugh.

Pyrrha helped Jaune get down by climbing the tree and removing the javelin from the wood. She’d made it look easy compared to his futile struggling earlier.

Once Jaune was down on the ground, both he and Pyrrha’s scrolls went off. Jaune realized that Weiss must have seen someone else before him. Thus Pyrrha and he were partners. The two read the message they had received.

“Your three-day joint survival exercise begins now.” It began.

“You and your partner must secure enough food, and water to last you this entire duration. Your goal during the three days is to exterminate as many Grimm as possible.”

_Great, just what I need. Surviving is one thing. But spending three days hunting nonstop is something else entirely._

He continued reading.

“Your grade, beyond passing or failing, is determined by the quantity and quality of Grimm you slay. Within the Emerald Forest, you will find Beowolves and Ursa. Additionally, the staff has captured some stronger Grimm too. It is up to you. Either focus on exterminating in mass or taking out the larger and more valuable threats.”

_At least we can choose how we go about it. I should convince Pyrrha that we should stick with hunting down weaker Grimm where we can._

“After three days have passed you will receive a notification. You have until nightfall of that day to return to the cliffs.”

The message was signed by Headmaster Ozpin and accompanied by a foreboding ‘Good luck’.

No sooner than they had finished reading the sounds of gunfire began to echo through the forest.

“Gunfire. It seems some of our comrades have already begun their hunt.” Pyrrha noted, “We should get started too, ready to go Jaune?”

Pyrrha began to lead the way, bending a branch that was in her path out of the way.

“Uhh sure let’s-“

The branch whipped back once she moved past it and slammed into Jaune’s face, leaving a small cut.

“Jaune! I’m sorry.” Pyrrha apologized.

Touching his fingers to the cut to see if it was worse than it felt, Jaune responded, “Heh. It’s okay. Just a scratch.”

He stood up, ready to continue onwards, not prepared to let a tiny cut get in the road of their new mission.

“Why didn’t you activate your aura?” Pyrrha asked.

“Activate it?” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at this, “Jaune you do know what aura is and how it works, right?”

“Of course I know, it’s on our status screen. Do you know?!” Jaune responded a tad defensively.

In truth, he had never been taught what aura was or how it worked. He had only been told that it attracted Grimm and that his would stay locked.

“Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts. With practice, our aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals.” Pyrrha explained.

“What about Grimm?”

“No, Grimm do not have souls, they are creatures of darkness.”

Jaune thought on that for a moment, “Is that why they’re attracted to those who have their aura unlocked?”

Pyrrha looked conflicted for a moment before answering. “In a sense, yes. Unlocking our aura allows us to project our souls outwards as a force. You can deflect harm from yourself, or inflict it onto others. But by releasing our soul to the world, it gives Grimm a greater ability to sense our emotions. Our negativity becomes a beacon rather than a candle to them and they can’t help but approach.”

Jaune finally had some insight into what his father was talking about.

_I guess my father was right not to unlock my aura. Even if Grimm came and I was able to protect myself with it, what about my sisters…_

I’d be a lure that brought misfortune onto my whole family, without the skills to protect them.

Pyrrha had approached quite close while he reflected. Close enough that when Jaune realized, she was close enough for their noses to almost touch.

“Now close your eyes and concentrate,” Pyrrha instructed, placing a hand on his face.

Jaune blushed.

“U-uhh okay?”

Jaune felt a slight tingle run through the skin where she was touching him. It ran through his entire body as she spoke.

“For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee.”

**[Aura is now unlocked]**

**[Class requirement (Base stat averages greater than 20) fulfilled]**

**[Congratulations. You are now a Novice]**

**[You have unlocked 3 Skills as a result of past actions]**

**[You have unlocked 2 New Skills]**

“Huh?” Jaune exclaimed in mild surprise.

Then a few seconds later he realized what the notification within his mind had said.

“Huh?!”


	5. Initiation I

The flood of information into Jaune’s head was explosive. The rush of power he felt flow through his body was addictive. He had never felt so strong, so capable of taking on the world. He dropped to the ground as the sensations overwhelmed him.

Jaune could feel Pyrrha shaking him. He didn’t know how long he had been on the ground for already. His mind was too occupied with absorbing the entire situation.

He could feel the knowledge just out of reach. Taunting him. Waiting to be observed before revealing themselves to him. He couldn’t feel the shaking anymore. The only thing he could feel was the need, the unquenchable thirst to dive deeper into this moment. So he did.

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 1**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 18 (43) [+25]**

**Fortitude: 25 (60) [+35]**

**Dexterity: 15 (36) [+21]**

**Aura: 30/30 [+30]**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**  
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **[Aura Control: Level 0]**  
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 20%   
Aura Control level affects all other aura abilities.

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)**  
Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)  
** Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 1] (Passive)**  
Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 10%

**/-/**

His mind worked overtime digesting everything in front of him. The three skills learned from past actions were his footwork, and skill with sword and shield. They were the only things he trained other than his base attributes. He tended towards training things he could see visible improvement in. This was why his base attributes were so high for his level.

His class skill was unique. All class skills were of course, but this was special. Normally a class will provide an increase for one or two attributes. The only class he had heard of that increased every attribute was Champion. The class of his mother and his partner, Pyrrha.

_Wait… Pyrrha!_

Having finally come to, Jaune looked at his surroundings.

He was still prone on the ground where he had fallen. Surrounding him were the already dissolving corpses of Beowolves. A short distance away, Pyrrha was engaged with 2 more. She didn’t appear to be struggling all too much, but Jaune leaped to his feet and charged at the one closest to him.

His initial charge was much faster than he anticipated, leaving him off balance.

The Beowolf sensed his loud and awkward approach. It leaped at Jaune, but his recovery was swift enough to take a fighting position and strike. With a single stroke of his blade, Jaune managed to completely split the Beowolf from snout to tail. The uncontrolled momentum of his blow carried him with it, landing him on the ground once more.

Pyrrha finished her opponent. She never once losing her footing or composure

“Jaune… What was that? You were out of it for well over a minute. You didn’t respond no matter how hard I shook you. I thought I’d done something wrong but then the Grimm and… and… You are okay, aren’t you?”

Compared to how she looked while fighting, the change in demeanor shocked Jaune.

“Pyrrha, I’m fine. I don’t really get what happened. One moment you were saying something about immortality and burdens. The next my brain was overflowing with all this information. It’s like there was too much going on and I just shut out the world for a moment to process it.” Jaune explained.

“I think when you unlocked my Aura, you fulfilled the conditions I needed to unlock my class. My attributes have increased and I’ve got skills now and…”

Jaune stopped, realizing he had spilled one of his secrets. He hadn't bothered defending himself when Weiss had berated him earlier. But not defending himself means a lot less than admitting that it's true.

But now she knew. One could not apply for any combat school without a class. He had given her all the clues to realize he didn’t belong here at Beacon.

He had expected to see anger on her face or disappointment at least. They were stuck with each other now. Pyrrha, the famous champion of Mistral, and Jaune, the boy who had finally become a Novice at the age of 17.

The look he saw wasn’t either of these emotions, instead, he saw concern.

He would have preferred anger. He had lied and cheated his way in and that was something he could live with. But seeing that same look, when he had finally acquired the tools he needed. It made him sick.

“I have to admit Jaune, when Weiss had claimed you were classless I thought she was being ignorant. I thought that you had a reason to hide your class and she was jumping to conclusions. I’ve faced opponents who had their class hidden to keep it a surprise in a tournament. I thought you were doing something like that. I don’t know if I can protect you for the full three days we are out here Jaune,” Pyrrha stated.

“I don’t need to be protected!” Jaune shouted. “I’ve trained hard to get where I am. I don’t expect you to understand. I’m weaker than I should be… Weaker than you. But don't I deserve a chance? A chance to stop being the useless level one loser now?”

The two looked away from each other back to the scene of dissolving Grimm that surrounded them. Pyrrha had taken them out with individual strikes by the look, as Jaune had. But none of hers were so thoroughly destroyed.

It was Pyrrha who broke the silence first.

“You’re right Jaune. I didn’t understand. Since I was little I’d gotten used to people placing me on a pedestal. I guess… when I learned about the disparity between our levels I assumed you would do the same.”

She looked to the ground. Contrast to how she would normally make such perfect eye contact.

“When we first met, you didn’t even know my name. I saw in you a chance for a real friend who wouldn’t be swayed by my fame. I know that I'm the one who found you out here, so it would be my fault. But I guess I was worried that you would try to use me for my strength.”

Finally looking at him, she smiled.

“I should’ve known better after seeing you take on that Beowolf. You’re brave to come here in the state you did, but you’re not stupid. You must have trained a lot, my strength score wasn’t as high as yours must be until I was at least level 15. You killed that Beowolf with a single blow, and you’re only level 1.

She ran a finger over Jaune’s cheek.

“You haven’t even learned to control your aura yet, but your cut has already completely healed. With talent like that, I do not doubt that you’re going to make a great huntsman. And a great partner Jaune, if you’ll still have me that is.”

Jaune laughed, “Well, of course, we’re a team now, aren’t we?”

**/-/**

They likely hadn't resolved all their differences. Life was rarely that simple. But the pair finally got to work dealing with their present situation.

They had already opened up to each other emotionally. The sharing of their general status information came freely after that.

Jaune explained what skills he had access to, including his class skill. He pointed out that he wouldn’t grow from leveling. With training he could grow steadily, acquiring skills and increasing his attributes. He wasn't a specialist. But with the right training, he could become a very flexible huntsman.

In return, Pyrrha pointed out her benefits. Just like Jaune, all her attributes were multiplied. Her class gave her the ability to excel in many areas thanks to her core statistics. Her class wasn’t without its flaws though. The cost for her combat potential was that she could only ever learn combat skills. She could be the perfect soldier, but she would never be a leader. She would have to rely on her friends for everything outside of combat. No one had ever even bothered to teach her anything that wasn’t supported by her class. Opting instead to focus all efforts on her career as a champion fighter.

“We are going to be out here for 3 days, our top priority should be finding water. We’ve already used up a lot of daylight as it is. Do you remember seeing any in the flight over?” Pyrrha asked.

“If I’m honest, no. I was too busy screaming for my life. I’d never been taught a ‘landing strategy’ before.” Jaune explained. “I remember being told that if we head downhill as much as possible, we will find water eventually. My dad taught me a few things like that when we would go camping back home.”

“That’s more of a plan than I have, let’s go. If you see anything that we can eat along the way let me know, if it’s an animal I can hit it with this.”

Pyrrha transformed her sword/javelin into a rifle.

_Her weapon has three forms? Even Ruby’s didn’t have that. Huntsman's weapons are so cool!_

“Will do.” He replied.

For a few hours, the pair traveled. The sun had long since passed overhead. The afternoon was well underway with night time soon to follow. No Grimm attacked them during their walk. The sounds of distant combat had sporadically erupted, echoing around them. As they walked, Pyrrha attempted to teach Jaune what she could without needing to stop. The pair had offered to share what they knew. Jaune taught Pyrrha the basics of survival and navigation. Simple things like not drinking still water, or how to spot potential animal trails. In return, Pyrrha shared her knowledge of aura. Through her explanations, Jaune gained a few new skills.

You have unlocked the **[Aura Shielding]** Skill.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 0]**   
Create a force field around your body to ward off harm.   
While Aura is active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 10 Damage

You have unlocked the **[Aura Channelling]** Skill.

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 0]**   
Your weapons are conduits for aura. Aura can enhance weapon attacks.   
1 Aura/minute: 10% Increased weapon damage.

You have unlocked the **[Aura Healing]** Skill.

 **[Aura Healing: Level 0]**   
Hasten the recovery of injuries with your aura.   
While injured, drain up to 1 Aura/hour to speed recovery by 100%.

It seemed that with adequate instruction, Jaune could learn how to perform a skill. With training, it would become more effective. Very different from the way most learned skills. Most people relied on what they gained through leveling. Rare was the case that someone gained skills through training.

Pyrrha explained that many aura techniques start out being active skills. But with training, they can become as natural as breathing.

“How does damage work then? Like, what does 1 damage mean?” Jaune asked.

“It’s usually best explained with a demonstration, but we shouldn’t waste any aura out here.” Pyrrha began. “It seems to directly correlate to how we measure aura. One damage typically drains one aura, but if you’re skilled with aura control, you can use less to achieve more. When your aura is drained though it’s different. You risk accumulating injuries. With bad luck, even 1 point of damage could be fatal if it injures you in a bad way. For example, even a child could put a knife in my leg if I wasn’t paying attention and had no aura.”

Jaune nodded to show he was following with her analogies.

“With that said, aura doesn't stop us from feeling pain. This pain distracts the mind and slows our reactions. Even if physically we’re uninjured it can feel like we’ve cracked ribs or been bruised. This damage is cumulative, building until we sustain a real injury. Then when our injury weakens us, we take more damage. That’s why fighting without Aura is so dangerous. Even the weakest of strikes could cripple you. As you get weaker you take more strikes without being able to fight back until, eventually, you die. That’s why huntsman and huntresses like us usually fight with a defensive style. Hit without getting hit.”

Pyrrha left Jaune to consider everything she had said for a while. Jaune finally had some information to work with. Something tangible with which he could begin to understand what he was capable of.

Jaune did some rough mental math with his strength, weapon, and skills. He estimated he could deal roughly 7 or 8 damage with his regular swings. If he channeled his aura it could be more.

When he had worked this out, he realized something didn’t add up.

“Wait, then how did I kill the Beowolf so easily?” He asked.

“The Grimm are different. They have no soul which means no aura, but they also cannot be wounded in the typical fashion. They don’t feel pain and they don’t have bones or muscles as we do. We don’t know what they are made of, but they dissolve when killed or when parts have been completely separated. It's best to think of them as pure energy and negativity given form. Deal enough damage and the energy runs out, killing them.” Pyrrha pointed out.

“That’s why I was so impressed when you killed the Beowolf in a single swing. It wasn’t just a lucky shot.”

Pyrrha stopped walking all of a sudden, “Wait, do you hear that?” she asked.

The pair concentrated on the noises around them. Shutting out the sound of insects and birds that had been with them since they landed. A faint trickling noise could be heard.

“It’s water! We must be close to a stream or something.” Jaune exclaimed.

Heading in the direction of the noise they found a small brook. They followed it downstream until it widened out into a decently sized water hole. When they finally arrived they were greeted with a pair of familiar faces.

“Ruby!” Jaune yelled out.

From down at the bank of the small pond both Ruby and Weiss were filling canteens with water. Hearing the greeting they both turned to look.

“Jaune! You’re here, that’s great!” Ruby shouted back as she began to run over.

“Ugh, not you again,” Weiss said, just loud enough to be heard.

“Your partner and I already know each other, do you know Pyrrha?” Jaune asked, “Pyrrha, this is Ruby. I met Ruby and her sister a few days before initiation, they helped me find a place to stay.”

“Hello Ruby, it’s nice to meet you.” Pyrrha politely greeted.

“Oh um, hello,” Ruby responded.

“Have you seen Yang yet Jaune? I was trying to meet up with her so we could be partners but I haven’t seen her all day...”

“Yang? No, I haven’t sorry. The two of you are the first pair I’ve met up with. Can’t you just use your scroll?” Jaune asked?

“I’ve tried! For some reason, we don’t get any signal out here look!”

Ruby pulled out her scroll and showed the complete lack of signal, prompting the others to check as well. Sure enough, none of them would be able to use their scrolls for communication.

“Well... What if we used this place as a meeting spot. We can go our separate ways during the majority of the day. Then meet here in the mornings or before night.” Jaune suggested.

Ruby thought on this for a moment, considering the idea, but it was Weiss who spoke up first, “And why would we waste our time meeting up with a class...less... Oh, you do have a class. I guess you were right Pyrrha. He was just hiding it. I don't blame him. If I was a novice, I'd want to hide it too.”

Jaune tried to stop himself, but he couldn't help but glare at Weiss. He already had been on the back foot with the girl due to her views on class. But to be insulted to his face. It only served to further cement his perception of the girl. His reaction was one that didn’t go unnoticed by his partner.

Pyrrha stepped in and spoke up, “Well Ruby, it was nice to meet you. Jaune and I will likely stop here for a time around 8 tomorrow, we will tell any others we stumble across to do the same. We may be competing for a prize, but surviving and passing is our top priority, isn’t it? We will be taking our leave now, we still need to find shelter for the night.”

She grabbed Jaune’s hand and led him away from the area. They followed the stream until they were a good distance away from the water hole.

“Don’t worry about what she said Jaune. I suspect her views have less to do with you than you would think. For now, let’s find a place to rest at night and try to settle in.”

Pyrrha’s words were comforting, but they didn’t make that interaction sting much less than it had.

“You’re right. We should find somewhere that won’t be too hard to guard at night.”

Together the pair headed followed the stream back uphill. They lucked out when the stream ran past a small cave within a rocky outcropping. Since it was already beginning to get dark, they decided that this would be the best they were going to get.

Jaune immediately got to work gathering firewood and stones. Carting them inside the cave. In contrast, Pyrrha began taking off her greaves.

“Pyrrha, what are you doing? I know I’m not one to talk but shouldn’t you leave your armor on in case something happens at night?” Jaune asked as he worked.

Without skipping a beat or stopping what she was doing Pyrrha responded.

“I’ll put it on when we go to sleep, but I didn’t want to get them wet with what I’m about to do. When you’re done setting up the fire, come and join me, I’ll teach you something useful.”

Jaune managed to get the fire started with a piece of combustion dust from Pyrrha’s rifle ammunition. He sparked it with his aura to create a burst hot enough to ignite the tinder. Jaune added larger pieces of wood until it was at a size that would sustain itself. At least long enough to see what Pyrrha had to show him.

She had waded into the stream up to her knees and held her weapon in its javelin form just above the surface of the water. The tip was slowly moving in circular patterns. Her focus was palpable. Even when Jaune approached she hadn’t taken her eyes off the water’s surface once.

In an instant she struck, her spear thrusting into the water. At the end of her spear was a small fish that had been pierced through. With a small flick, she flung the fish over to the side of the stream. It landed near a respectable collection of other fish.

“Pyrrha that was awesome, where did you learn to do that?” Jaune asked.

“It was actually how I was trained to use my aura to heighten my senses. Jaune, have you ever felt like you were being watched.” She asked, to which Jaune nodded.

“Chances are you were, and your aura can tell even in those whose aura is locked. With training, you’ll be able to detect other people’s aura long before you see or hear them. You’ll even be able to sense people’s hostility or intent with time. This activity is a beginner’s method to train that ability. Get in here, I’ll show you how.”

Jaune pulled up his jeans and entered the water.

"It's cold!" Jaune complained.

She laughed and handed him her weapon and instructed him to observe it if he needed to. With his curiosity towards hunter items growing ever since he learned how to do so, he didn’t have to be asked twice.

 **[Miló – Custom Tier Javelin-Xiphos-Rifle]**   
Deal 5% of your strength as damage on a successful strike. (Based on sword or spear skill)   
Capable of firing dust rounds.   
???

Her weapon dealt less damage than his own and far less than Ruby’s. It relieved him to know that not every weapon in the world would outclass his own by default. Personal choice and skill played a factor as well. Jaune did not doubt if it came to a fight between Pyrrha and himself, he wouldn’t come out the winner. But at least he had this small victory over her.

He had never heard of a Xiphos before. He pictured the short sword that she had wielded at times during the day when it wasn’t in its rifle or javelin state. The fact that observe reveals information he wouldn't otherwise know was worth remembering. It wasn't just for understanding statistics.

“Do you mind if I transform it into the sword? I’ve never used a spear. Do I need it to be a spear for this?” Jaune asked.

“Either is fine, what’s important isn’t the weapon itself. I learned this before I received Miló and was taught using a sharpened stick. Having the reach might be useful, but it’s not crucial.”

Jaune fiddled with the weapon, finally finding the switch to control its transformation. With the short sword ready he assumed a position similar to the one he saw Pyrrha in.

“Good. Now I want you to try and relax, close your eyes for now. Calm your mind and focus your aura. Normally if you focus you can feel it like a skin-tight thin layer of clothes. Can you feel it?” She asked her voice soft so as not to distract him from his attempts at being relaxed and focused at the same time.

After a short amount of time Jaune could barely feel it; a vague warmth that surrounded him. “I feel it.” He responded.

“Now let your aura expand. Don’t force it, just will it, and keep your mind calm. When your mind is calm, your surroundings will be reflected in your aura like a mirror.” She instructed.

“This is kind of hard Pyrrha.” He complained.

She gently prodded him in the chest, “Stop complaining, and just try to do it.”

Despite the seemingly contradictory instructions, he attempted to perform them all. Focused yet calm, he didn't force his aura, merely directed it. As his concentration sharpened, the sounds of the steam became louder and louder. Soon he wasn't just hearing the stream, but feeling it. It was as if his legs had grown and the water was flowing through him. Jaune cracked open his eyes, just a fraction. He saw that it was not his legs, but his aura which had grown, forming a small bubble around his whole body.

“Excellent work Jaune! You got it so quickly too. Now I want you to keep it up a few moments more.” Pyrrha requested.

The longer he held this state the more in control of it he felt. It was exhausting, but Jaune managed to expand it even further. His aura stretched a full foot out from his body in all directions.

He nearly lost concentration when he heard Pyrrha splashing in the water upstream.

“Pyrrha…” Jaune started.

“Keep concentrating and trust me.” She responded, still making noise as she stomped through the shallow water.

As she got closer and closer it was harder for him to focus, but he held out. Just long enough to realize what she was doing.

Something alive broke through his aura. The shock of the sensation broke him out of his concentration.

You have unlocked the **[Aura Awareness]** Skill.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 0]**   
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 30cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Aura Control] is now level 1.**   
All stats increased by 21% (+1%).   
All Aura abilities are 10% more efficient.

Pyrrha’s laughter drew him out of his thoughts.

“Your face when you saw the fish was hilarious Jaune. You should learn to stop getting distracted by your status so much by the way.”

“You did well though, tomorrow you can catch our dinner to train your aura control. Tonight though, well, I caught enough for both of us, let’s eat.” Pyrrha said while grabbing the fish she had caught earlier.

The fire helped dry them off from their expedition in the cold nighttime water. It also did a good job of cooking the fish. Too good in fact. It turned out that Pyrrha had no skill with cooking whatsoever. burning the first fish in the fire completely.

Jaune took over with the other two fish, making sure to scale them as well. With Jaune in charge of the cooking, they each got to eat that night.

They split their sleep into 2 shifts. With only 1 entrance to and from the cave, it was easy for Jaune who took the first watch.

During his time on watch, Jaune experimented with his aura. It was a fascinating sensation. Like having an extra limb. Or more accurately, like being able to move an arm he always had but had never used before.

His control was limited and shaky. Unable to see his aura, it was hard to know what he was doing. Simple tasks like forming small ripples on his hand were mentally taxing. But his experiments weren't for nothing. His attempts at finer control rewarded him when his aura control leveled up a second time.

When he woke Pyrrha for her watch, it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep afterward.

**/-/**

“Jaune.” a voice whispered in his dreams.

It wasn't often he had one of 'those' dreams.

“Jaune!” the voice called louder by his ear.

_Wait that voice is a bit familiar._

_Smack_

“Keep quiet!” a loud whisper commanded.

He had been rousted from his sleep by a hit to the gut and a hand forced over his mouth. Pyrrha was the one who had woken him, and for some reason she wants him to be quiet. He shot her a look which he hoped conveyed that he was listening and wasn’t about to start shouting.

Pyrrha removed her hand from his mouth, bring a finger to her lips before speaking.

“Jaune, we have to be quiet okay? I felt a breeze during my watch, but it was coming from further within the cave. I went to investigate to see if there was a second entrance. There wasn’t. We aren’t alone in this cave.” Pyrrha whispered.

Jaune’s eyes widened and his mouth opened. A hand immediately slapped back down, silencing him. When it was clear he wasn’t about to shout out Pyrrha lifted her hand once more.

“Is it Grimm?” Jaune asked.

“It is, a Deathstalker. I think it got trapped down here. It’s bigger than the entrance to this cave.” Pyrrha explained.

Jaune looked at the entrance to the cave. It was still night time out there and it would not be wise to try and find more shelter in the dark.

“What do you think we should do? We aren’t leaving are we?” he asked.

Pyrrha thought for a moment, “I think we could kill it if we are smart. It looked like it was sleeping; it didn’t notice me when I stumbled onto it.”

“Didn’t you say this thing was huge? Bigger than the cave we are in?”

“I did, but that works to our advantage. If you sneak up to it and hit it hard and fast before it wakes we could injure it, then we fight it while it struggles to move. It’s our best chance, and if it fails we can still leave the cave afterward anyway.”

“Let’s do it,” Jaune stated.

The two brainstormed. Pyrrha offered a precise description of the creature so that Jaune knew what to expect. It was like a scorpion on steroids. A thick carapace on its body and claws, but with weaker legs and tail. Its eyes were also potential weak spots. Jaune threw out ideas on what he was capable of. He wouldn't be able to pull off anything fancy, but if he had the opportunity he could hit it pretty hard.

The pair packed their belongings. Leaving them in a position that would be easy to pass through if they needed to retreat from the cave. They snuck further into the cave until finally, Jaune could see it. It had its back turned to them, giving them a clear view of its dangerous-looking tail. It was tipped with a large stinger that would no doubt hurt to be struck with. The thick purple venom that dripped from the point would be problematic too.

“Before I do this Pyrrha, I need to make sure. If I use Aura, will it wake up? I want to hit this thing as hard as I can.” Jaune asked, whispering as quietly as possible.

“I don’t know, it’s asleep but… I don’t know. Our best chance is to risk it.” Pyrrha whispered back.

So risk it he did. Jaune snuck up with his sword drawn. He breathed slow and careful breaths as he focused his aura into and around his blade. When he could feel that it was ready, he swung with both hands.

The edge of his sword glanced off the carapace of its leg but managed to slide into the joint of its leg. Finding purchase in the softness of its flesh it bit deeply. The leg did not come off completely, but as the creature wailed and screamed in pain from its rude awakening. The weight it placed onto the limb in its struggle caused it to rip off completely.

Not wanting to waste the precious time he had left, Jaune swung again and again at a second leg on the same side. When the creature had started thrashing Jaune had lost concentration on his aura. His blows weren't cutting as deep as they were before, and several were missing. He barely managed to hack another leg off and then back away before the creature turned to face them.

Pyrrha opened fire. Several shots glanced off the faceplate of the Deathstalker. Inevitably she hit her mark and blinded one of its many eyes.

Seeing another opportunity, Jaune drew his shield and moved to the front of the creature. It lashed out, enraged at the intruders who dared to injure it. A claw larger than Jaune’s whole body crashed into his shield. He was sent skidding several feet backward. His arm ached from the impact, but he was uninjured.

With adrenaline pumping, Jaune managed to block the next few strikes more proficiently. He forced them to slide off to his side rather than slamming into him. Each strike he took granted Pyrrha the precious seconds she needed to take shot after shot. Several more of its eyes were gouged out in the process.

It didn’t take long for Pyrrha to run out of rounds in her rifle. The second she did she raced in. Her rifle transformed back into its sword state. With her shield, she blocked a claw from reaching Jaune.

The creature's attention was split between the pair. Jaune soon found an opportunity to slide under a blow and strike at its remaining right leg. He had managed to infuse his blade with enough aura to make his strike count. The Deathstalker tilted over and landed on top of a pile of its severed limbs.

The creature would no longer be able to maneuver effectively. The fight wasn't over though. Its stinger flew towards Jaune. He was unable to dodge, still off-balance from his strike. It struck him in the shoulder launching him backward until he crashed into the wall.

“Jaune!” Pyrrha cried out.

“mm’fine” he mumbled.

His head ached from the collision and his vision swam. Plus his shoulder felt like it was on fire. The venom was held away from his skin by his aura. But it ate away at his clothes like acid and burned like lava.

He forced himself to stand on shaking legs and ignored the notification he felt within his mind. He scraped the purple substance off with his shield and began moving back into action.

Pyrrha was on the defensive. She was managing to deflect and redirect strikes from both claws and the stinger as she leaped around it. But all by herself, she wouldn’t be able to fight back. Jaune doubted she would be able to last at that pace.

“Pyrrha, can you grab the tail next time it strikes.” He asked.

“Grab it? Are you kidding me?” Pyrrha yelled.

He knew it was a big request, but it was his best chance to finish this fight. He didn’t know how badly he was hurt yet and he felt that he could drop at any moment. Fortunately, she managed to leap on top of the stinger with her shield in front of her body. She held it down with her body weight.

Jaune raced forward with a battle cry and swung with all his might once more. He aimed for the section where the tail was at its thinnest, right before the base of the stinger itself.

His strike cut through, spraying dark purple liquid all over the room.

Pyrrha's feet made contact with his back and launched him across the room.

He hadn’t realized it but he had put himself in line with the claws which were making their way for the prone girl. Pyrrha had shoved him out of the road but was forced to take the hit herself as a result.

Pyrrha was pinned to the ground, groaning as the two pincers squeezed her from either side. The sharpened edge of her shield was forced into her rib cage. The sharpened point of the claw threatened to pierce Pyrrha's spine from behind.

In an instant, he was back up. Forcing himself to ignore the full-body ache he felt as a result of being thrown around so often during this fight. Together they had managed to dismember it, but it felt like they were no closer to killing it. So Jaune switched his methods. He raced directly to its face, his shield was torn off by the claw that struck at him, but he ignored it moved on. He turned his blade around, holding it in a reverse grip and lifting it above his head.

“Eat this!” He shouted.

Jaune concentrated his aura as much as he could; forcing all other thoughts from his mind as best he could. The sword plunged, piercing one of its remaining eyes. The steel continued a full foot into its head.

The Deathstalker screeched so loudly that Jaune began to bleed from the ears. It released Pyrrha and thrashed around. Pushing itself along the ground with its claws.

Jaune mounted the creature. With the stinger no longer a threat he turned his back to the tail and pulled on the handle of his blade, like it were a lever. The creature’s bottom jaw was split clean in two as the blade rotated through its skull. Finally, the creature had stopped moving. Black smoke began to rise from its now dissolving body.

It was a close affair, but the pair had done it.

They had killed the Deathstalker.


	6. Initiation II

Jaune slid off the back of the Deathstalker, landing with a thud. Slowly he crawled towards where Pyrrha lay on the ground.

Lying down beside her, he asked, “So that... was a thing huh?”

He didn’t blame her when her response was to continue sucking down deep breaths,

He hadn’t had the time to check his notifications amid combat. It was time to finally see what they were.

 **You are suffering from Cracked Ribs (Minor).**   
All stats reduced by 10%

_Well, that explains why it’s so hard to breathe right now._

**[Aura Channelling] is now level 2.**   
12(13) % Increased weapon damage. (+2%)

 **[Aura Shielding] is now level 1.**   
10 Aura: 11(12) Damage. (+1)

**You are now level 4.**

“You hit that wall pretty hard. You okay?” Pyrrha asked from beside him after some time.

“Yeah, it’s not life-threatening, but I don’t think I’ll be much use in a fight until I’ve recovered.” He replied.

“My aura is nearly completely exhausted after all that, do you think you could take the rest of my watch? I know you haven’t slept much but-“

Jaune interrupted, “It's fine. I’ll take watch; you sleep or do whatever it is you need to do. I’ll use this time to try and recover as well.”

“Thanks, Jaune.” Pyrrha said while slowly getting back onto her feet.

Together they made their way back to where they left their belongings and settled in for the rest of the night. Pyrrha in the end didn’t go to sleep and instead entered what Jaune assumed was some form of meditation.

Jaune took a position against the wall and tried to get as comfortable as possible. It was going to be a long night after all. With barely a third of his aura remaining, he cemented the lesson he had learned. In the future, training shouldn’t be done while on a mission. Or at the very least, not training that spends a resource as finite and valuable as his Aura. After the fight he just had, even that little amount of extra aura would be welcome.

Pyrrha was fortunate that she could focus on recovering her aura. Jaune's was injured, and so what little aura he had, he focused on repairing his body. He gathered his aura from all over his body and tried to focus it onto the parts of his chest where the pain felt the worst. One upside of having used his aura before the fight was the control he gained. It was slow work, and it would often bubble out where his concentration dropped. Eventually, the energy ebbed away from his legs and arms and thickened around his chest. It was like a warm bath focused on his torso.

With his mind occupied on the many tasks he had set himself, time passed quickly. It was a surprise for Jaune when he realized the outside of the cave was lit up by sunlight. His body hurt less and he could see that the effects of his injury had dropped to nearly 5% from 10%. It was unlikely he would fully recover before initiation was finished. He simply couldn’t afford to expend that much aura. After the recovery, he was barely left with 5 aura remaining. A clean strike from anyone could break through that.

Looking over at his partner he found her no longer seated but fully prone. Her meditation must have shifted to proper sleep during the night. Her rest couldn’t have been particularly effective. Still, it was better than what he had had, and they had another day to get through yet.

He woke her with a gentle shove of her shoulder.

“It’s time to go, the sun is up. We need to get food and water, and if possible I need to sleep.” Jaune explained to the girl as she rubbed her eyes.

She slowly packed her things and got up.

“Thanks again for last night Jaune, I’ll try to take charge of things today, you focus on recovering. We can get some food first. Generating aura burns a lot of calories. We only had a fish each last night, plus whatever we had at breakfast. If we fill our stomaches now it’ll help us recover quicker.”

Jaune, not having the aura to assist, let Pyrrha catch the food. While she was fishing, he set up the campfire and prepared for her arrival. He stacked the campfire a little taller than usual. Hoping that they could get back before it burns out completely. It would mean an easier job later on and a smaller delay before he could finally get some sleep.

Pyrrha finally returned with a total of four fish to share. Jaune handled the cooking so that none would be wasted by Pyrrha’s poor cooking skills.

Jaune was hungry and immediately began to devour the meal. Barely halfway through the first fish, his stomach began to protest. It felt like he was full, but he knew he needed to eat more. It wasn't as enjoyable for the remainder of the meal, but he forced it down.

With breakfast finished they kitted up, beginning their march to the watering hole.

Jaune was beginning to regret finding shelter so far from where they wanted to go. In the end, it hadn’t even been that safe anyway. He wanted to sleep, and it was still quite uncomfortable to breathe and move. His patience was starting to dwindle.

“Hnnng...”

Jaune heard a noise from nearby.

“Pyrrha wait, did you hear that?” Jaune asked.

She nodded, heading off in the direction they had heard the sound. They found the source leaned against a tree and partially covered by foliage.

Pyrrha immediately rushed over to what Jaune could now see was a girl their age. She was a ranger who had long black hair which was pulled into a ponytail at the top of her hair. Her clothes consisted of a sleeveless top which left her midriff exposed. A midriff that Jaune now realized had a hole through the side of it.

Rushing over he asked, “Are you okay?”

In response, the girl’s head rolled around as she weakly clutched at her side. Despite his yelling, she didn't even seem to notice him.

“She’s completely out of it. Her body is covered in sweat but she is ice cold. She must have been out here like this for hours through the night.” Pyrrha explained.

She pulled a red sash from around her waist and began pressing it to the wound.

Jaune lifted the girl. His ribs groaned at the sudden action. He held her in a position where Pyrrha could tightly wrap the wound. Hopefully, with constant pressure, the bleeding would slow.

“We should take her with us. Maybe the others know first aid and can fix this?” Jaune asked.

“Mhm. Even if they don’t it's better than leaving her here. We better carry her carefully though, we don’t know if she has any other injuries. Grab her weapon and then take her legs, it’s not far to go.”

Jaune looked around for a few seconds.

“Pyrrha, I don’t see any weapon here. Maybe the Grimm took it?” He suggested.

Pyrrha looked between the girl and him frowning.

“Jaune, Grimm didn’t do this. That was a bullet wound. Whoever did this took her weapon and left her to die.”

“What!? But why would anyone do that?”

She lifted the girl’s upper body, prompting Jaune to lift her legs. The two started walking, not wanting to waste time talking about it.

“I don’t know.”

The two carried the girl as carefully as they could. The movement was eliciting groans of discomfort from the girl. Worse than the complaints though, was the blood. It was still pouring out of her wound almost as freely as before it was wrapped. Jaune was slowly becoming coated in the bright red liquid as it flowed down her body towards him.

“Pyrrha, we need to hurry, she is bleeding everywhere.” Jaune pleaded.

She nodded and picked up her pace. Together they ran as fast as they could down the hill until they finally opened out into the clearing. There they saw 6 individuals sitting near the water talking. Jaune recognized Weiss, Ruby, and Yang amongst them.

“We need help, now!” Both he and Pyrrha shouted as they approached the group.

The entire group recognized the situation immediately and rushed over to help.

The discussion was quick. No one had brought a first aid kit with them as they had all launched with nothing except their weapons. Jaune quickly vowed to not make this particular mistake again. Stitches were out of the question, and the current care given was insufficient.

A black-haired girl with a bow in her hair spoke up, breaking the atmosphere of negativity.

“I might know a way... but it’s not going to be very nice.” She stated.

Jaune looked at the girl who spoke up. Her entire outfit was a combination of black and white clothing. It featured ribbons that covered her arms and adorned her head. Her eyes were yellow and quite startling to look at. Almost as startling as the class above her head; Assassin. Normally Jaune wouldn’t be one to be bothered by someone’s class. Given the situation he found himself second-guessing himself.

“What is it? If it will save her I’ll take the blame for whatever it is we have to do.”

She turned to the Weiss, “Give me some fire dust, you have that on you right?”

Weiss simply nodded and pulled a vial of red dust out of the weapon by her side. It was a long thin-bladed rapier that contained 5 more of those vials in a revolver style container. She handed the vial to the dark-haired girl, who then handed it to Jaune.

“Pour this into the wound and then use your aura to activate it. It’s going to hurt her, a lot. But it’ll close the wound.” She explained.

Jaune didn’t quite understand what she meant and simply followed directions. Without hesitation, he poured the dust into the wound.

The girl looked away, her bow flattening down from the movement.

Jaune used a small amount of his aura to activate it while it was inside.

The girl’s screams were instantaneous and loud. They didn’t last very long though. As quickly as the dust had been activated, it fizzled out leaving a blackened patch of burnt flesh behind. True to the girl’s word though, the bleeding had stopped.

Jaune hadn't realized that was what would happen, he hadn't been thinking. The shock and the morbidity of his action caused him to rush off and empty his stomach.

Upon return, the ranger was completely unconscious, having passed out from the pain. Pyrrha had begun washing the area with water from her canteen. Several of the others were trying to make her as comfortable as they could.

“Where did you find her?” Ruby asked.

“She was just left against a tree in the woods. We only noticed her because we heard her groaning as we made our way over here. Pyrrha thinks someone attacked her and left her there sometime during the night... They took her weapon away from her too because we couldn’t see it anywhere nearby.” Jaune recounted.

A discussion quickly broke out. Who could have done it? 9 of the 16 students are already here and most agreed that none present would have had the capability to do this.

Ruby provided her knowledge of the type of weapon that could leave a hole like that. She pointed out details about the pattern and size of the wound. Stating that only a rifle type weapon like her's or Pyrrha's would look like that.

The discussion was interrupted when the orange-haired girl spoke to her partner.

“Look Renny, that birdy is headed straight for us! Isn’t that weird?”

‘Renny’ looked where she was pointing.

“Uh, guys?” He spoke up, gathering the attention of everyone present.

Everybody looked in the direction that he and his female friend were pointing. The ‘birdy’ wasn’t as sweet or innocent as it sounded. A giant nevermore, an incredibly large avian Grimm, was headed straight for them.

Jaune reacted first, “Pyrrha! You help them fight, I’ll get her undercover.”

Jaune grabbed the unconscious girl and quickly dragged her out of the clearing. Crouching down near her he observed the fight that had broken out. If it made its way too close to their position, he would have to be ready to move her again.

Everyone one utilized a variety of different ranged projectiles. Renny opened fire with a barrage of automatic fire. Yang’s gauntlets blasted a series of shells which exploded on contact with the nevermore. Ruby and Pyrrha’s rifles periodically sounded out as they took the time to mark their shots. Impressive as the display was, it was the orange-haired girl and Weiss stood out.

The orange-haired girl’s large war hammer shifted into a grenade launcher. The girl had become a one-woman mortar station. Her shots had the approaching enemy immediately wary and dodging. The love heart marked projectiles exploded in the air around it.

Weiss wasn't even using her weapon. She held it in her right hand, pointing it towards the creature. Jaune had expected the weapon to work like a pistol. That was what he assumed the revolving cartridges were for. Contrary to this, she used it as a focus for her spells. Dust was drawn from the cartridges and moved to the tip of the blade where it was activated. Balls of fire and a rain of crystalline ice spikes appeared one after the other. There was barely a delay between each consecutive projectile. Each shot curved through the air, not one missing their target. Her power and control were top-notch, beaten only by Professor Goodwitch.

The creature soared overhead, flapping its wings. Feathers as large as tree limbs flew at the group like darts.

Jaune couldn’t hear what the others were saying from this distance. It appeared that they had come up with a plan of some sort.

Ruby and Pyrrha had switched from their targeted critical shots to firing at center mass. Their shots weren’t doing much damage. They did however have the effect of pissing the nevermore off. In response, it beelined straight toward their location.

Before it reached them, a grenade was launched into the water. The explosion caused a geyser to explode upwards. This water was then frozen and shaped into a huge spike of solid ice by Weiss.

The nevermore, upon seeing the glacial spear, veered off to the side. It narrowly avoided the ice but was met with the misfortune of veering into Yang. She had propelled herself into the air right before its face. Shot after shot was unloaded into the bird's eyes, blinding it. The nevermore instinctively turned away from the most recent source of distress. Right back into the ice spike.

Through the sheer virtue of its instinct, it managed to protect its body. Even while blinded it let loose a last moment burst of wind. It pushed its body to the side, but in doing so ended up puncturing its wing on the ice. As it fell, the weight of its own body dragged the ice through its form, tearing the wing open completely.

The creature was in pain and no longer in possession of its greatest advantage, flight. The 7 fighters who had downed it struck and struck until finally the final blow was dealt. The orange-haired girl brought her hammer down atop the nevermore’s skull.

Jaune waved the group over to where he and the sleeping girl were. The orange-haired girl, Renny, and Pyrrha returned to Jaune’s position. The other half of the group took off in another direction.

“Where are they going?” Jaune asked.

“Blake said she saw a group watching as we fought the nevermore. She thought it was suspicious so she wanted to chase them down. The other three tagged along because they knew Yang, her partner. Although Weiss didn’t seem pleased.” Renny explained.

“Oh right, thanks Renny.”

“Uhh, it’s not... We should introduce ourselves. My name is Lie Ren, you can call me Ren, and this is my partner Nora.”

Nora excitedly spoke up, “Partners! Has such a good ring to it doesn’t it? Me and Renny have been together for basically forever... Not together-together though. Not that he isn’t attractive. He is Attr-”

Ren allowed her to continue talking, though it was mainly to herself. Jaune and Pyrrha introduced themselves to Ren in the meanwhile.

“What should we do now?” Ren asked.

“Look after her I guess?” Jaune replied. “Pyrrha how are you feeling after that fight?”

“Not a scratch!” She cheerily replied.

Bang

All four heads turned in the direction of the sudden gunfire.

“That wasn’t the direction the others went,” Pyrrha stated.

“Ren, Nora, do you mind looking after her? I’m a bit injured after last night so only Pyrrha would be able to defend her if we stayed and something happened. We are only going to investigate, it shouldn’t be too dangerous.”

“Can I come?” Nora asked.

Ren held her back, “As Jaune said, we should have two people with her in case something happens.”

“Aww. Fine.”

The pair ran off in the direction of the noise, weapons drawn. As they ran the sounds of combat began to ring out. There was no gunfire, but the distinct noise of steel meeting steel at high speed gave them a direction to head. Eventually, they managed to get sight of the situation.

It was three on three. The closest group, a trio of Faunus composed of two men and a woman. The larger man had thick brown fur that covered his entire upper torso. He swung a large woodcutter’s axe around. Tearing chunks from any objects which happened to get in the road of his attacks. The other man was smaller and had a tail. But his frame held muscles that rippled underneath his clothing. His whole body coiled and exploded like a spring every time he swung his weapon. It was a mining pick of sorts, much larger than ordinary. The sound of the earth when he struck it was as loud as gunfire. Finally the woman, she swung a small club. She was constantly positioning herself, getting behind her opponents before she struck. The only clear Faunus trait she had was a set of ears atop her head.

The furthest group seemed to be leading the momentum of combat. They danced around and away from the other group. Always on the move and only stopping for a moment at a time. Swinging and striking with their weapons before leaping away. The one who was giving commands to his partners wielded two wickedly curved knives. He used them to skillfully deflect the incoming blows from the much heavier weapons. His partners held curved swords. The curves were different, unlike most he had seen before. It was clear from how they swung, the weapons were used for chopping more than slicing.

“What do we do?” Pyrrha asked.

Jaune answered by rushing out headfirst into the clearing.

“Stop fighting! We already have an injured girl in pretty bad shape. We don’t have the supplies to try and patch everyone up after these pointless fights!” Jaune requested.

“You have Jade?!” The man with the curved knives asked.

Jaune would have responded, but the other group suddenly turned towards Jaune. The three moved fast and before he had a chance to react they were almost upon him and approaching from 3 sides.

Jaune leaped to the side as both an axe and pick hit the ground where he just was.

“What the hell?! Why are you going for me now!?” Jaune shouted at his new aggressors.

“We lost contact with Jade late last night. Where is she?” One of the others shouted back, rushing towards Jaune’s location.

“We left her with some friends, by the stream. I’ll take you there when we are finished here, just help me deal with these guys first yeah?”

“Sorry, bro. Gotta look after our own first.” He said, circling the attackers and rushing into the trees where Jaune came from.

_Shit._

Jaune jumped and rolled, blocking with his shield as much as he could. The onslaught from the three attackers was relentless. He didn’t have time to convince them otherwise; he had to focus on what was happening.

Jaune managed to finally get onto his feet when the girl aimed her club at him. She was holding it differently and Jaune couldn’t quite tell why, but it looked familiar.

_Kaboom_

_A freaking shotgun!?_

Jaune took the impact mostly on his shield. A few pellets shredded his clothing and spun him off balance as they collided with the aura of his arm. A thin white light across his body shun before dissolving into a cloud of dust that appeared to fall off his body. His aura had run out.

He barely managed to lift his shield to block the axe that came at him from overhead. In doing so he left his torso open for the pick which had swung in from below. Jaune closed his eyes and awaited the impact that was about to come, knowing he had no way of stopping it.

But it never came.

Opening his eyes, Jaune saw Pyrrha standing before him. Her shield held off the strike which was meant for him. The distinct effervescence of shattered aura filled the air. Pyrrha's spear was buried in the man's leg.

“Keep it together Jaune; these guys aren’t all that tough by themselves.” She encouraged.

Pyrrha kicked the now crippled man away with a strong shot to the gut. She transformed her weapon into javelin form and launched it at the woman with the shotgun. As it left her grip it exploded forwards like a missile, barely missing her target's head. The force of the wind whipped her head to the side, knocking her down.

The remaining threat received a shield bash and a spinning kick to the chin. He was sent crashing onto his partner. With two attacks Pyrrha had managed to turn the 3 on 1 into a 1 on 2 in their favor.

Something suddenly whizzed past Jaune’s head and moments later Pyrrha dropped with a cry of pain. She was sprawled across the grass, clutching a hole in her thigh just above her cuisse. It looked exactly like the one that ‘Jade’ had had, her aura dissolving above her.

Jaune looked around to see where it had come from, but he couldn’t see anyone.

A voice from within the woods called out, “Retreat for now!”

The remaining attacker lowered their weapon and ran past his position. Jaune wasted no time in rushing over to Pyrrha. He had no idea what just happened. There must have been more than just the 3 they had seen, and in a stroke of luck, they had decided to retreat.

They had headed in the direction that the others all were, the direction that help was. But he knew he couldn’t risk taking Pyrrha towards the combat. So instead, he picked her up and carried her in the direction he remembered their cave being.

“Thanks, Jaune, I guess I let them get the drop on me. I didn’t hear or sense a thing.” Pyrrha weakly mumbled.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m going to get us somewhere safe and then get you patched up, okay?”

“Yeah... Sounds good.”

Together they managed to make it back to their cave without interruption. Jaune tore off his hoodie and immediately got to work cutting it to ribbons. With her permission, he removed Pyrrha’s greaves and cuisses.

Her armor had done a good job of concealing the fact that Pyrrha wore little more than a miniskirt to cover her legs. Fortunately, Jaune's body was too busy pumping adrenaline to let his mind wander. He began wrapping the leg. When he saw that the bleeding wasn’t stopping he tightened the bindings into a tourniquet. When that failed he jumped to the solution that they had used last time. He upended Pyrrha’s pack and took out her ammunition. He had started a fire like this last night, so he thought it would be able to cauterize the wound as well.

“Don’t,” Pyrrha muttered, her voice barely a whisper.

“It won’t cauterize, it’ll spark. Its combustion dust, not fire dust. I’d like to keep my leg... As long as possible.” She laughed.

So instead, Jaune headed to the fire he had left burning from breakfast. It wouldn’t be as instant or effective, and it would be harder to work with. Most of the wood had been reduced to chunks of coal, but they were still glowing orange. They would have to do. He scooped as many as he could get up with his shield and brought them over to her side.

While he was gone, Pyrrha had taken her leather belt off and placed it in her mouth, already biting on it quite firmly. It seems she knew what was coming.

He didn't have the time to make any tools for this. Jaune steeled himself and grabbed the hottest looking piece of coal with his bare hands. It burned, even through his gloves. Jaune gritted his teeth and worked through it, pressing the coal to her wound. She clenched her jaw and groaned, but she did not scream, a testament to her mental fortitude. When Jaune felt enough time had passed he rolled her over and repeated the process on the back of her thigh as well. Upon finishing that he re-bound the wound with the shreds of his clothing.

Pyrrha had passed out after being told that it was over, he didn’t blame her, the pain in his hands was bad enough. She would likely continue to bleed inside the wound, but she wouldn’t lose blood as easily. With the bandages wound on tightly, she would be fine for the time being.

With the worst out of the way and Jaune’s adrenaline beginning to leak out, his tiredness began to eat away at him. He hadn’t slept in over 30 hours, during which he had been fighting, hiking, or hunting the entire time.

_Pyrrha can’t fight like that so I’ve got to. I need to get my aura back as fast as possible and then get the hell out of this damn forest._

Jaune sat cross-legged with his back to Pyrrha. He didn’t dare close his eyes for fear of falling asleep the moment he did. Instead, he focused his eyes on the entrance to the cave. Jaune remembered that Pyrrha had used some special technique to recover her aura. He would need more aura to recover, so he attempted to do the same. Jaune forced his breath to slow down to a steady and paced rhythm. He experimented with the process, trying to find what it was that Pyrrha had been doing.

His mind was sluggishly working its way through everything that had happened. Often he found his mind wandering. To try and force himself to focus he began to repeat his objectives in his mind.

_Stay Awake. Eyes Open. Protect Pyrrha._

With his mind focused it wasn’t long until he received a notification.

You have unlocked the **[Meditation]** Skill.

 **[Meditation: Level 0]**   
With deep breathing and concentration, you can affect certain aspects of Aura.   
Aura Recovery Rate +100% while meditating.

Jaune could feel the familiar warmth of his aura slowly wrapping itself around his body. He didn’t realize it until now, but now that he had his aura unlocked it felt very cold when his was fully expended.

His meditation skill took a lot of the work out of the process. It was the same as when he was practising with his aura awareness. The job itself was a sub-routine in his consciousness, requiring minimal concentration. As a result, Jaune was able to relax more and focus on his surroundings.

**/-/**

The hours seemed to slow to a crawl. A saving grace was the fact he could confirm that time still was moving by checking his scroll. He had planned to let Pyrrha get a night's rest. Hopefully, her aura would stabilize the wound to make it easier to transport her. Then he would meet up with the others to wait out the 3rd and final day as a group. He could rest once he had some backup.

He checked once more, it had only been about 5 minutes since he last checked according to this.

_Only a few more hours until sunrise._

“They’re in here.” An unfamiliar voice spoke from outside the cave entrance.

Jaune stood up, grabbing Pyrrha’s weapon as he did so. Chances were these people were the ones who had been attacking others. With the girls shotgun and the hidden sniper, they had the range advantage over him with just his sword.

He snuck towards the entrance of the cave. Jaune could see the figures of 4 individuals outlined by the moonlight from outside.

Jaune had never fired a gun before, but he understood how it worked. Aim, pull the trigger, and...

_Bang!_

He fired at the largest target and they were lit up with a dark purple ripple across their body. Jaune had struck and done at least some damage to the man’s aura.

He fired again and again until they had retreated to either side of the cave mouth.

“Don’t make this messier than it has to be. It’s 4 on 1, 4 on 2 if your little cripple friend wants to put herself in front of attacks meant for you again.” A new voice spoke out.

Jaune fumbled around trying to reload Pyrrha’s gun. “You think I’m going to roll over and make it easy for you? You’re even dumber than you look then.”

Silence echoed for a moment that seemed to stretch on for hours.

“Rory put a bullet in him already.” The voice spoke.

Jaune scrambled to switch from holding the rifle with two hands to holding the shield out in front of him. Just in time as one of them spun out into the open and fired a bullet that ricocheted off Jaune’s shield. The bullet didn't have enough punch when it landed on his shield. The second bullet that skidded past his foot made him realize that if it didn't hit his shield it would be bad news.

The man got down onto the ground, lying prone as he fired shot after shot at Jaune. With his torso covered by the shield, Jaune relied on constant footwork to protect the rest of him.

Jaune pushed forwards as he dodged. Now that he couldn't operate the rifle, his only chance was to take the fight to them.

_Click_

Their gun was empty and the firing had stopped. Jaune raced towards his position ready to deliver a strike. He hoped that this would be the end of the conflict, he was running out of steam already. Too tired, sore, and a multitude of other reasons to maintain his regular stamina.

“Now.” The prone marksman ordered.

The second Jaune had stepped into melee range of the man the two larger men he had seen earlier spun out and struck. An axe and a pick made contact with Jaune’s shield. He had managed to raise it thanks to the verbal warning, likely saving his life. The combined strength of these two men striking in unison overpowered Jaune. His shield was ripped from his arm by the force of the blow and it skidded across the floor toward the back of the cave.

On pure instinct, Jaune rolled to his side to try and stand. In doing so he avoided the point of the man’s weapon which was brought down where his head had been. He didn’t manage to avoid the boot which planted itself into his abdomen and instead took that on with his aura.

Rolling with the blow Jaune managed to regain his footing. He held his weapon in towards the group which was now steadily advancing onto his position.

“Take one more step and there is going to be consequences!” Jaune bluffed.“It’s not too late for you to just leave, I won’t follow you. This can be the end of it.”

The group stopped advancing for a moment and looked at each other, before laughing.

“What are you, an idiot? This IS the end of it.”

The outside pair watched as Jaune was pushed further and further into the cave. The attacks of their teammates drained his barely regenerated aura and blocked any chance of escape.

Jaune was parrying and blocking as best he could, but he had never trained to use his sword defensively. Inevitably blows began to sneak through his defences on his weaker side.

“I’m not letting you get through here dammit!” Jaune cried out.

“Not over your dead body right?” they laughed.

_I can’t keep this up, they have me outnumbered and I can’t defend two places at once._

Jaune decided to risk it. He charged up what was left of his aura entirely into his blade. He saw the two men closing in for another combined strike and instead of attempting to block or retreat. He stepped forwards.

The handle of the man’s axe drove into Jaune’s collarbone. At the same time, Jaune swung his sword full force into the body of the other man. Jaune’s sword broke through his opponent's aura and stuck itself into the man’s hip.

His left arm hung limply down by his side. His shoulder was no longer supported by a collarbone which was now horrendously broken. His right arm attempted to pull the sword out of the man’s hip but lacked the leverage to do so. For his attempt, Jaune was kicked across the room

“You little shit!” The remaining man yelled.

“Boss, we have to make sure this one suffers. He probably just killed Donovan.”

“Do whatever you want just-”

The man’s sentence was cut short as a sickening crunch was heard from his general direction.

“Aaaaarghhh!” He cried out.

“What the f-” The woman beside him began before she too was met with the same fate.

“Hey, Jauney! You miss us?” a bright voice called out.

Jaune craned his neck up to see Nora. Behind her, Ren tossed the bodies out of the cave entrance.

Both of the assailants that were on the ground beside her were clutching their legs. Each now sporting a second knee joint that bent in an unnatural direction.

The man beside him rushed the pair. Ren exploded from his position and thrust his palm into the man’s sternum. He flew backward and shattered his aura instantly on the rock that caught him. He was unconscious before he even hit the floor.

“Did you just break their legs?” Jaune asked.

Nora happily bounced over to Jaune and pulled him up onto his feet.

“Maybe... I’m not hearing an ‘I missed you’ though.” She said with a smile.

Ren helped get Jaune into a makeshift sling while Nora checked on Pyrrha. Somehow she was still asleep.

He explained that the girl they had saved regained consciousness a few hours ago. Her semblance was some form of tracking that she had placed onto the one who had shot her.

“She tore her friends a new one for leaving you when she found out. Immediately told us where they were.” Ren added.

“I guess I’m lucky she woke up when she did.” Jaune forced a laugh.

“And that’s when I came in here and broke their legs!” Nora exclaimed, much happier with herself than she perhaps should be.

“I just have one question,” Jaune stated.

Ren nodded.

“Do you mind if I take a quick nap?” He asked as he passed out.

**/-/**

When Jaune woke up he wasn’t in a cave anymore. He wasn’t in the forest or by the stream either.

When he woke up he was in a bed with pure white sheets. This bed was in a room that had equally clean white tiles on the floor and paint on the walls. The overwhelming whiteness of it all was blinding. A stark difference to the blacks, reds, and browns he had gotten used to in that cave.

He tried to sit up with a grunt of discomfort as his whole body protested the action.

“Jaune!” a female voice from beside him exclaimed.

Looking to his side he saw Pyrrha. She looked good, better than she had when he last saw her. He gazed down at her legs and stared at them as he searched for signs of bleeding or infection. He was happy to see there were none, only a scar the size of his little finger. He ran his finger over it and sure enough, it had healed through.

“Ummm…” Pyrrha whined.

He looked up at Pyrrha’s face. It was a shade of red like her hair. He then looked back down to her thigh which he currently had his hand on.

“I’m sorry!” He yelled, pulling his hands away from her as if he had just touched a fire.

Looking at his sinful hands, he realized he technically recently had. Most of the surface of his hands was unharmed thanks to his gloves. But his fingertips were a smooth pink, a sign of scarring that had nearly finished healing.

“Renny look! Our fearless leader is awake, and he’s getting it on with Pyrrha!” Nora’s voice called out from the other side of the bed.

Turning to look he saw both Ren and Nora with seats of their own. Nora’s hand was raised to her mouth in mock shock at the accidental display that was occurring before them.

“Ren! Nora! Wait, fearless leader?” Jaune asked, confused at the title.

“That’s you, dummy!” Nora responded, speaking like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“One man protects the girl he loves against a team of trained killers, trapped with his back against the wall. You’re our fearless leader for sure!” Nora sounded as if she was reading out the summary for a Spruce Willis film.

“I don’t love Pyrrha!” Jaune protested.

Pyrrha whined again near him, for some reason even redder than before.

“Not that you… I don’t… Guys…!” Jaune gave up, he’d lost this fight when they caught him earlier.

“You’ve been asleep for a few days Jaune, we can explain later but for now, we are going to get a nurse for you,” Ren explained as he dragged Nora away from the spectacle that was he and Pyrrha’s interaction.

Jaune forced himself to sit up, Pyrrha jumping up to assist him where she could.

“So what did I miss then? I’d rather you tell me now than make me wait.” Jaune asked.

“The headmaster wanted to explain it to you himself, and he really would be best to hear it from. I wasn’t awake much sooner than you were, but from what I was told we slept through the rest of initiation.” Pyrrha explained.

_Oh._

He had failed then. The third objective; get out of the forest after the third day. He hadn’t gotten out; he was likely dragged out by the others.

Jaune’s face had given away what he was thinking about as Pyrrha placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Jaune, don’t panic before you hear the full story okay. Why don’t you tell me what happened after you patched me up?”

Jaune took the time to explain the short remaining details that she had missed. The hours spent watching for Grimm, the final fight, the timely arrival of Nora and Ren. It didn’t take long to tell but by the end of the story, the nurse had arrived with Nora and Ren in tow.

She took charge of the conversation from that moment on. Asking questions about what he remembered, and explaining his injuries. When they were listed all at once, Jaune realized fully how serious the situation he’d wound up in was.

The majority of his body was bruised, particularly his torso. He had repeat fractures in several of his ribs and his shield arm had been cracked. His left collarbone had completely snapped, digging into the flesh of his neck. His shoulder was dislocated. Not to mention he was suffering from sleep deprivation and malnutrition. Those wouldn't have been as big an issue were it not for the fact his aura had been recently unlocked. A process that exhausted the body's resources faster than normal for a few days.

Everything combined painted a picture of just how close Jaune had come. All in all, once his injuries were treated, they left him to sleep for 2 full days with a nutrient drip meant for hunters.

“Hello again, Mr. Arc.”

In the middle of the explanation, Headmaster Ozpin had approached the group.

“I was told you had woken up, I believe we have a few things to discuss.”

“Yes sir,” Jaune responded, the others around him remaining quiet.

“To start; I would like to commend you on your actions during initiation. You may or may not have been told, but the men you faced that day were not students. They shut down electronic signals from within the Emerald Forest. They even managed to completely evade detection from the cameras. We’re still not exactly sure how they did that. Rest assured we will find that out, as well as their motivations for doing so. My pride as a sage and as a teacher rests on it.” He explained.

_That explains why our scrolls weren’t getting any signal._

The headmaster continued.

“Since your friends took extra care to get you and Ms. Nikos to safety, they unfortunately escaped. You can trust our staff and the authorities in Vale to track them down. All successful applicants have received a place in my school and placed onto a team of four. Sadly two pairs decided to return to the cliffs early and failed this year’s initiation.”

_I wonder who the other pair was._

“Congratulations you guys, you deserve it,” Jaune said to Nora and Ren.

The headmaster smiled.

“Indeed they do. Miss Valkyrie and her partner scored the second-highest of all applicants. They managed to slay a Two-Headed King Taijitu all by themselves. As a result, they will be partnered with the highest-scoring pair of the year.”

He was quiet for a moment.

“Mr. Arc, Ms. Nikos, they will be partnered with you.”

“What!?” Jaune asked loudly, his shock at the concept plain to see.

“Yes. While it’s true you weren’t conscious for the last third of the initiation, you still returned on time. It wasn’t written anywhere that you had to make it back by yourself. Since you and Ms. Nikos are the highest-scoring pair this year, that makes you their partners, as part of team Juniper(JNPR)”

“How did we score the highest? We missed an entire day.” Jaune asked.

“I’m sure it must seem insignificant to what you ended up facing. The pair of you took out several packs of Beowolves on the first day. You then took out a Deathstalker that very night. The following morning you assisted in taking down a Nevermore. The number of creatures you fought may not have been the greatest. But you showed your talent by taking out some incredibly dangerous threats. Last year’s top team only barely managed to take out a Deathstalker during initiation as a team of four.”

“So… You mean to say…” Jaune muttered.

“What I mean to say Mr. Arc is welcome to Beacon. I hope you will enjoy your next 4 years here.” Professor Ozpin said with a smile. “Oh, and classes for team leaders start in two hours. I expect to see you there Mr. Arc.”

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 4**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 18 (43)**

**Fortitude: 25 (61) [+1]**

**Dexterity: 15 (36)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)  
** Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **[Aura Control: Level 1]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 21%   
All Aura abilities are 10% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 1]**   
Create a force field around your body to ward off harm.   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 11(12) Damage

[ **Aura Channelling: Level 2]**   
Your weapons are conduits for aura. Aura can enhance weapon attacks.   
1 Aura/minute: 12(13) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level 0]**   
Hasten the recovery of injuries with your aura.   
While injured, drain up to 1 Aura/hour to speed recovery by 100(110) %.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 0]**   
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 30(33) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Meditation: Level 0]**   
With deep breathing and concentration, you can affect certain aspects of Aura.   
Aura Recovery Rate +100% while meditating.

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)**   
Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 1] (Passive)**  
Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 10%


	7. School Days I

“I’m sorry I’m late!” Jaune yelled into the classroom as he flung the door open.

The classroom had 10 other students. Each wore a shiny metal pin attached to their collar. A symbol of leadership. The class was a combination of the team leaders from the first three years. The first years, like Jaune, wore a bronze pin. The second and third years wore silver and gold respectively.

He knew not to expect any 4th-year students. The details on his scroll had filled him in on the fact that 4th-year students spent most of the year abroad. What he had expected to see was Professor Ozpin teaching a class. He was absent despite his late arrival.

“Hey, Jaune!”

Looking into the crowd he spotted Ruby, wearing a bronze pin of her own.

“Ruby! You got made team leader too?” He asked.

“Yep! It’s good to see you, we didn’t know if they would let you out of hospital this soon.”

“Ahh well, I only woke up this morning. They pretty much kicked me out as soon as I did. Where’s the headmaster?”

Ruby pouted, “The older students say that he is always late. ‘Waiting builds character’ apparently. I’ll introduce you to someone, come on!”

Ruby pulled him around to one of the seats closer to the window of the classroom. He was pushed into a seat in front of a cool looking girl wearing a beret. The first thing he noticed about her was that she had a fairly unique class name; Heavy Gunner.

All the other team leaders, himself included, had their gear on them. Due to her class, he was expecting to see a rocket launcher or something near her. Strangely, the only thing she had was a small black purse. Like all her other attire, the handbag looked like it had come straight from a fashion magazine. She looked like a model, only the latest brands had made the cut for this outfit.

“This is Coco. Coco, this is Jaune! Coco says that she is last year’s top scorer, so I thought you might like to meet her since...” Ruby was introducing the two before she was cut off by the fashionista.

“Since you,” She paused for emphasis, “are this year’s best student. You even managed to top us from last year. How’d you do it?”

“Oh, you know... found a Deathstalker, hit it really hard. Tried not to die. The usual.” He responded.

She lowered her black sunglasses and glared at Jaune for a few seconds.

“I thought you said he was really cool?”

“He is! He’s just also really awkward, like me.” Ruby replied with confidence.

“Awkward and no sense of fashion either.” She turned back to Jaune, “Don’t think I didn’t see the hoodie you were wearing during initiation. Just because you tore it to shreds before I could, doesn’t excuse you for putting it on in the first place.”

“Hey, my hoodie is cool! Why can’t anybody see that?” He protested.

Ruby interrupted, “Coco is the team leader in charge of helping us first years if we have any problems. She doesn't like cool stuff like my cloak, but otherwise, she is nice.”

“I 'don't like' those who struggle to dress in the morning.” She quipped back.

“Your attention please!”

Professor Ozpin had entered the classroom while they were talking.

“All second years and onwards have a free day today; use it to get prepared for the school year. Ms. Adel, stay behind.” He directed.

The majority of the class stood up and cleared out leaving behind just 4 students. Jaune of course knew Ruby and Coco, but he also now spotted a member of the students he rescued.

“Welcome to your first day of leadership training. Each of you have been chosen as leaders. Chosen from your peers because you showed qualities that a leader must have if they are to be successful.” The professor began what must be a speech that all first-years are given, based on Coco’s reaction.

“It would of course be foolish for anyone to think that having 'some' good qualities makes you a leader.”

He cast his gaze over the group.

“I am hoping that with my tutelage, and with the aid of each other, you can learn to fully embrace the role. Leaders need quick thinking, adaptability, willpower. Above all, they need to be willing to sacrifice when the situation demands. You will learn all these things. When all is said and done, you will not just be capable of making plans and giving orders. You will be capable of protecting your team and the lives of all those who are trusted to you. Your skills as a leader will be worth more than any blade or aura technique you could learn. That is why the staff at Beacon takes extra care to ensure you are all trained properly. So that you may one day fulfill your role with honor.”

He paused for a time, letting everybody soak in what he was saying.

“While it is important to know what positive qualities are required. It is just as important to know your weaknesses and how to rid yourself of them. Today and for this week, weakness is what we will be focusing on. Joining us today is Ms. Adel. She is the 1st year assistant, picked for her success in this class last year. When members of staff are unavailable she will be available for any questions you have."

Coco raised her hand so everybody knew for certain what she looked like if they needed to seek her out.

“Ms. Adel, you’ve had a year to learn and grow. We will start with you. Tell the class your biggest weakness, and be precise.”

Coco stood before the small group, “As a leader, I struggle with placing my team members in danger. My over-cautiousness has slowed our response times on missions.” She spoke confidently despite the subject.

“Very good Ms. Adel, an astute response. As you can see, there is no shame in having a weakness. We all do. What I would like to do now is hear from each of you. What are your biggest weaknesses?”

Everyone was quiet after the question was posed.

Jaune thought back to his experience during initiation. He had been able to rely on his strength and fortitude when fighting the Grimm with Pyrrha’s assistance. But when he was outnumbered or out skilled, his only option was to hide behind his shield and take the hits. He had no ranged options and his skill in close quarters was laughable. If Pyrrha hadn't stepped in, or Nora or Ren, he wouldn't have survived.

“Sir.” Jaune broke the silence, “I believe my biggest weakness is a lack of personal skill. I relied on my partner and friends to get me through initiation.”

The professor looked at him for a few seconds, “Indeed Mr. Arc, as a leader we must lead by example. Hiding behind your team members while they do all the work is never acceptable. One must go above and beyond to be truly worthy of the position.”

It was Ruby who spoke up next, stating that she has had trouble getting people to listen to her because of her age.

“The experience one gathers with age is a trait often valued highly. It’s can be hard to take orders from someone younger than you. You must prove that despite your inexperience, you are just as capable as everyone else in this room.”

“How about you Mr. Winchester? What did you learn from initiation?” the professor prompted.

“The initiation was a breeze. The only reason that weakling beat us was all the big targets were taken before we got there. We lost because of bad luck.” Mr. Winchester explained. He stuck a thumb in Jaune's direction at the mention of 'weakling'

“Is that right?” Professor Ozpin shot a pointed look at him. “Arrogance is more often than not worse than being weak or inexperienced. I hope that you take me seriously when I say; learn to lose that ego before you have to learn a lesson the hard way. You have talent Mr. Winchester, do not waste it.”

He scowled and looked away from the professor, but didn’t speak back.

“Normally during our lessons, we will focus on training your mind. Planning activities and problem-solving exercises. The theoretical component of the teamwork classes you have later in the week. But, seeing as you have just formed your teams, I’m giving you the day off to spend with them. You will have homework. I would like 1000 words describing the weaknesses of your team and those within it. Understanding your teammates and helping each other grow is a vital part of your time here at Beacon. You are all dismissed.”

Coco took a place in front of the group as the headmaster left.

“That about wraps up what you can expect from these lessons. He will teach you what you need to know, but he won’t waste time or words in doing so. If the professor tells you something, know that he has a reason to tell you. If he doesn’t tell you something he has a reason for that too, usually to make you think for yourself.”

“Now enjoy your day off while you’ve got it. The workload at Beacon is insane and if you want to see a day off again this year you should get ahead of schedule. Oh, and I’ll send you all a text through the day so that you have access to my number if you need it.” Coco explained.

What she said wasn’t wrong. The entire first class, if you could even call it that, barely lasted a few minutes after his arrival. But in those few minutes, he and the others had had their eyes forced open to their weaknesses. It was time to fix his flaws and become someone his team can rely on.

**/-/**

“You’re back fast,” Pyrrha said with a hint of surprise.

“Yeah, I guess it was pretty quick. He sent me back with homework though, are you guys free today?” Jaune asked.

“I’m always free, and Renny would’ve just used the free time to nap anyway,” Nora replied.

“What do you need us for Jaune?” Pyrrha asked.

Jaune thought about how he would word it. It could come across as a little strange if he just outright said it.

“All the team leaders have been given a task for the week. I figured some kind of team-building exercise would be a good way to get started. I was thinking that maybe we could all have a spar and then talk it out afterward. If we don’t know what we are all capable of it’ll be harder to work together after all!” Jaune explained.

“That sounds lovely!” Pyrrha responded.

Ren looked as though he was thinking about something rather deeply before asking.

“What shall the rules be? Are semblances and skills allowed? Or should we make this a mock spar?”

Jaune observed Nora who had just picked up her war hammer. He felt for a moment a flash of fear as he remembered what that weapon was capable of doing to someone’s legs if she wanted.

“For the sake of this, everything is allowed. But this isn’t about winning or losing so don’t go hurting anyone before classes start, okay?”

“Awww” Nora complained.

Jaune had one more idea which he decided to throw out. It might come across as weird, but he knew it was likely better to tackle this problem now than later.

“There is one more thing. Before we begin, I would like to let you guys observe my status.” Jaune stated.

The reaction was mixed. Pyrrha seemed to understand what he was doing since she knew his story. Nora looked at Ren who in turn showed no more external reaction than a raised eyebrow.

“It’s for the best; I know it’s pretty personal. I won’t be asking for the same in return.”

It was Ren who spoke out first.

“I’ll go first, please pardon the intrusion.”

Ren placed a hand upon his shoulder, and a second later Jaune could feel a cold flow within his aura.

“Hmmm, I see why you wanted to share this with us Jaune,” Ren stated.

“Me next! Me next!” Nora said while bouncing over to Jaune.

When Nora began to mix her aura with his own to activate her skill, it was like a jolt of electricity had shot through him. Over as quickly as it had begun, she shot him a look with half-lidded eyes.

“I know I called you our ‘fearless’ leader. But this is something else.” Nora stated.

“Pyrrha, you already know most of what you’re going to see, but please go ahead.” Jaune gestured toward himself.

She placed her hand on his shoulder as well, but there was no strange feeling. She looked to the side and fidgeted on the spot somewhat.

“If you would like to Jaune, and if you promise not to make a big deal about it, you can observe mine too” Pyrrha shyly stated.

“See that Renny, Pyrrha lets her partner observe her stats, how come you never want to observe mine!?” Nora complained.

She had specifically made a request not to make a big deal out of it. Jaune withheld any questions and simply nodded his head.

Pyrrha began to push her aura into his own, and he did the same in turn. Her aura felt strange as if solid almost. It felt less like he was mixing his aura with hers and more like she was opening a gate and pulling him inside.

**/-/**

**Pyrrha Nikos**

**Level 24**

**Champion**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 43 (114)**

**Fortitude: 42 (111)**

**Dexterity: 66 (175)**

**Aura: 10/10**

**/-/**

Jaune opened his eyes and saw Pyrrha looking back at him expectantly.

“I have a long way to go I guess?” He said, not wanting to upset her by making a big deal about the huge difference in their strengths.

Jaune was surprised at the limited amount of displayed information. Observe only showed their level, class, and attributes. Then again, it would take a long time to go through every single skill someone gains through their life. It would be more efficient to merely discuss them.

Jaune turned to the team as a whole and spoke.

“Before initiation, I was classless and had no Aura. Every skill I gained was gained during the last few days. I’ve spent my whole life working on just my base attributes. I should mention that, due to my class skill, I do not gain any stats with level.”

“None at all?” Ren asked.

“None so far anyway. 3 levels and I haven’t gained an attribute or a skill. I doubt I will either, so I would like to ask you all for your help. I might be your leader right now, but I’m nowhere near as strong as I need to be to fight beside you, let alone lead you. I might not gain anything from leveling, but with training I can learn any skill out there. If you each can give me time and guidance, I’ll put in the effort until I’m ready.”

Jaune had looked to the ground when he spoke, but when he finished he looked up. Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha were all smiling.

“Of course we will help you Jaune. That’s what a team is for.” Pyrrha responded.

“You have a lot of Aura Jaune. I’m a Monk, so I’m quite good with aura techniques. I bet you could do a lot with them,” Ren explained.

“I’ll teach you how to take a hit like a pro!” Nora exclaimed.

“G-great. Thanks, everyone, and Nora. Let’s head down now and get this out of the road.”

_So I have time to recover before tomorrow._

They headed to one of the training rooms. These rooms had a special system that you could link with during training. It allowed you to monitor your aura and that of your opponents.

Ren and Nora said that there was no need for them to fight each other since they had known each other for years. So Nora ended up fighting Jaune first.

It was a short affair. Jaune lifted his shield and had planned to slowly advance on her position until they were in range. When she started lobbing grenades around him he was forced to race into melee range. Straight into where she was mid-swing with her war hammer. Even as a barbarian, known for their simple fighting style, he had been led around by the nose for that fight.

Up next was Nora and Pyrrha. This fight lasted much longer.

Nora attempted the same tactics. She lobbed grenades around, causing Pyrrha to maneuver around the field. Unlike Jaune though, Pyrrha wasn't restricted to close-range combat. She was landing shots with her rifle, dodging the explosions before they occurred. Steadily she chipped away at Nora's aura, forcing her to switch from the launcher to hammer. Pyrrha immediately matched her, switching to her shield and sword. Jaune knew first hand what it felt to weather one of Nora's swings. So when Pyrrha didn't just stop her attack but completely repelled it, his jaw dropped.

_Is she that far ahead of us?_

Pyrrha’s blows proved to not be as light as they looked either. She struck with precision and grace, but every time a hit landed a chunk of Nora’s aura was depleted. Pyrrha wasn't immune to the damage she was taking on, her aura would drop after each hit. But without having taken a single direct hit, the fight ended with more than 80% remaining.

They took a break so that Jaune’s aura could replenish before his fight with Ren. He attempted to meditate to try and hasten the process, prompting a few pointers from Ren. With Ren's guidance, Jaune gained a few instant levels in his meditation skill. Jaune had assumed that the only way to level skills was to use them repeatedly. As it turns out, however, the quality of your practice matters too. With the advice of an expert, you can shave the training requirements down.

The team took the time to discuss Nora’s performance since she had now finished all her fights.

Jaune didn’t have much to say about his fight. Everyone agreed that Nora's problem wasn't one born from a lack of training. Instead, her weakness was caused by her weapon and style. Her swings were powerful but slow and easy to see coming. This wasn't necessarily an issue that could be resolved. Thus the team marked it down as an asset that required a setup.

Jaune already had a few ideas that he would love to try when he gets the chance. Making plans with his team was a lot like playing the board games he used to play with his sisters back home. Learn the rules. Break down your advantages, move the pieces, put a plan in motion. Watch that plan come to fruition and savor the victory.

After their discussion Jaune’s aura had recovered enough to continue. It wasn’t full, but they didn’t want to waste too much time waiting. His meditation skill was something that he would invest time into training thoroughly. When he expends his aura in training, he could more rapidly recover and get back to work. It was the same logic as to why he trained his fortitude more than his other skills. More fortitude meant more training before you got tired. In the long run, more training meant more strength.

Jaune and Ren squared up in the arena. Jaune would be his warm-up for fighting against Pyrrha. Ren had wanted to test Jaune on what he had told them earlier. It was still a test of skill, but Ren wanted to see how strong his ability to learn new skills was.

"Make sure you're paying attention. I'll use only 1 skill to start with, try to copy it."

When the alarm buzzed, Ren raced towards him in a flash.

Ren was in Jaune’s face in an instant. He had only seen Ruby move at those kinds of speeds before during the fight with the Nevermore. She had some kind of super speed semblance though so it didn’t count. Whatever this was, it looked like it wasn’t semblance related.

Ren had left his weapons holstered and instead slammed his bare hands against Jaune’s shield. Living up to his class of monk, the impact wasn't like flesh on steel. It was like being hit with rocks.

Ren made no effort to try and outsmart Jaune and simply overpowered him front on. It wasn’t the kind of fighting style he had expected from him.

_Is he using the skill right now?_

Jaune racked his brain for clues. Trying to work out what the skill could be so that he could try to then emulate it.

_He said he specialized in aura techniques, could this be one?_

Ren managed to slip past Jaune's shield and land a blow to his chest that launched him away. the impact had been soft, almost as if he had been pushed rather than struck. From a distance, Jaune could see the dark-haired boy's muscles convulsing. He took a runner’s starting position and his legs visibly grew in size. Again Ren had covered the distance between them in a moment. Even compared to Pyrrha, this speed was insane. Jaune, now paying attention, could see the boy's body had changed entirely. He normally wore such loose-fitting clothes, but now his body strained against the cloth.

Something to do with his muscles and aura. All of these skills involve moving it somewhere, so I guess I just move my aura to my muscles?

Ren then wrapped his left hand around Jaune’s hand which held his blade, and his right hand grasped Jaune’s shield. He started pushing Jaune hard and fast towards the edge of the ring. They had agreed that ring outs would be applicable wins for their spars. If Jaune didn’t do something he would lose.

Just like when he creates his aura shield, he gathers up his entire aura. Instead of directing it outside his body, he tried to will it into the muscles through his body. A notification appeared in his mind, no doubt confirmation that he had learned the skill.

It felt warm, and he felt strong. He could feel his muscles getting bigger and the speed at which he was being pushed back slowed to a crawl. He was still losing ground, and it was his legs doing the work. Jaune gathered the aura which was buffing his whole body and condensed it further. His lower half now contained the majority of his aura, with a small amount reserved for his shield. The warmth turned into a strong heat. It felt like he had been doing squats and lunges for an hour, it burned but the results were undeniable. In an instant, he reversed the movement and began to push Ren back.

He still hadn’t forced his entire aura into his legs yet though. He could feel there was still about a third of his aura pooling in his abdomen which he forced into his legs.

Jaune blinked from the sharp sting he felt, and when he opened his eyes he was about 3 meters in the air. Behind him, Ren was knocked flat on his back. The ground around him was fractured.

Jaune tried to land but his legs caved under his weight. He could feel that same stinging again in his legs. He pulled his jeans up to see the skin of his calves were starting to turn a dull red. Jaune immediately resigned from the fight, letting them know he would need to take the rest of the day off.

His aura hadn't been drained too heavily, only a few minutes of use, but for some reason, his body still got injured.

Pyrrha and Ren had their final fight, and Jaune watched most of it, but he was distracted by the ache in his legs. He took his mind off it by investigating the new skill.

You have unlocked the **[Muscle Augmentation]** skill.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 0]**   
By filling your muscles with aura, they grow and become stronger.   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 10(11)% per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.5xFortitude, injury can occur.

_That explains that I suppose. A little warning might’ve been nice._

Returning his attention to the fight before him it seemed like it was just about to end. Pyrrha had opted to take on Ren’s impressive hand to hand skills with her own. However, rather than striking, it seemed as though Pyrrha was a grappler of sorts.

She had just turned Ren’s strike into the perfect setup for a shoulder toss which had him landing on his back again. Pyrrha placed a foot onto his chest and drew her weapon finally.

He resigned peacefully.

When they came back up they again discussed their team members' performances. Ren had received some critique on his fighting style against Jaune. He assured them his normal style is what was displayed against Pyrrha. A slower more methodical and defensive striking style. Aura was used in a multitude of skills to make his blows more dangerous. Despite his potential for causing harm, he showed a lack of aggression in his preferred style. If he would be able to take advantage of more openings, his performance would improve.

Jaune had a feeling that aggression wouldn't be something that would come naturally. He gave the impression that he was less of a fighting monk and more of a spiritually enlightened one. Quiet and wise, but able to dish it out when necessary. He formed both contrast and compliment to Nora. He, the silent blade that slipped between the cracks. She, the one who cracks. When opponents are distracted by Nora's dangerous swings, Ren could sneak in. Yet if they focused on Ren, Nora had greater opportunities to land her shots. Factor in two extra teammates and they could form a viable team strategy. The dynamic would work in many situations.

Pyrrha and Jaune stated that they wouldn’t spar. With Jaune injured and Pyrrha's status being what it is, no one contested the decision.

With all the fights complete, they discussed the final pair's performances. Pyrrha had given a dominant show, winning every match without much difficulty. However, despite her winning streak, a less than desirable trait became apparent. Pyrrha intentionally fought her opponents at their strongest. She fought to her opponent's advantages, not her own. Her best performance had been against Nora. Pyrrha outclassed her at range, but she gave up her advantage willingly. A creative psychological tactic, but a dangerous habit to have made.

When it was pointed out, she dropped her head. she claimed she had had this problem for some time and had never managed to shake it. She promised she would work on it so it didn’t become a problem when it was important. Back when she was a prize tournament fighter, it was a desirable trait that pulled in crowds. But now with lives at risk, she knew she would have to break the habit.

Jaune's feedback was also in contrast to his performance. He had been expecting a fairly thorough breakdown of all the things he could improve on. Instead, he had received 'You need more practice', or 'You lack Experience in fighting'. It was vague and attempting to draw an explanation from them was like drawing blood from a stone.

In the end, it was Ren who gave a satisfying response.

"Jaune, the reason we don't have a great answer for you, is that you don't have a single problem that stands out. Your 'style' is nonexistent. You don't have any active skills, you rely on passive stats and individual strikes. Sure you have a lot of aura, but you haven't trained to use it. Your combat style is lopsided. If we get past your shield, we will hit you. If we lock up your sword, you can't fight back. You need to develop some strong points before we can point out weak points."

It stung, and it made his face grow red from shame. He couldn’t blame Ren for saying what he said either, because it was true and he knew it. He knew that being able to defend with his sword would likely have saved him in the cave and that his aura was weak. He had only had it for a few days, half of those he was unconscious for.

But it wouldn’t make him a good leader if he let their feedback get him down.

“Noted. Give me until next week and I’ll try to have at least one of those problems fixed. That’s a promise, and an Arc never goes back on his word” He proclaimed.

They seemed satisfied with his answer, and as a group, they spent the time together training. Pyrrha moved through a series of movements, like a dance with her weapons. It looked more structured than simple shadow sparring. She would repeat the same set of techniques several times before moving onto a new set. It was all purely technical training, which fitted the girl who had such high technical skill.

Nora opted to relax. She managed to talk her way out of doing anything productive. 'Classes haven't even started yet' and 'I learn by doing, not by pretending to do stuff'. She did eventually join in with Pyrrha doing some bodyweight training. The girl wasn't lazy if her effort once started was anything to go by. It was likely just a lack of motivation before school had started.

Jaune and Ren spent the rest of their day partnered up. They discussed the skill that Ren had shown him. This discussion eventually turned into a discussion of all his skills. His highest level skills were his combat skills, but he had more skills dealing with his aura. Ren provided some tips and pointers which with practice, earned him level 1 in each skill.

Jaune was showing some interest in aura, something which didn't go unnoticed by Ren. Being a class that specialized in aura techniques, he passed on 2 aura control methods. Ways of training the aura control skill for beginners. If Jaune practised these to a specific level he would be ready for more specific, high-level training. The techniques are the basics for anyone looking to make aura a reliable tool.

The first method was to train his Aura Awareness skill. The further you stretched it and the longer you could make it last the better your control. The benchmark for beginners was 1 meter for ten minutes. With Jaune’s large capacity, he would likely not have an issue with the duration. Extending his reach with the skill and not losing control for the duration would be the hard part.

The second method involved control on a finer level. Interestingly it was like his experiments on the first night of initiation. All he had to do was create each letter of the alphabet out of his aura at the end of his finger. When he could go through the entire alphabet in 10 seconds he would be passable.

When he had achieved both goals Ren explained that he should be roughly level 5 in Aura control.

Jaune was also instructed to practice meditation daily, as much as he could tolerate. The quality of meditation wasn't as important. Ren explained that it's as much a skill to be trained as it is a way to reflect. If his mind was wandering, he was encouraged to see where it led. What mattered most was doing it regularly. It was a matter of time and repetition.

Ren seemed amused at Jaune’s enthusiasm at everything he was learning. Jaune had never gotten the opportunity to learn like this. Everything was new, instead of slaving away at the basics every day. He knew he still needed to improve his swordplay, and he had plenty of other problems. But his aura was a brand new toy that he couldn't help but play with. Getting stronger at the same time was a welcome bonus.

Jaune went to bed that night exhausted in so many ways. His aura had been drained twice resulting in an actual increase in his total. His legs still ached, but they had lost the red-colored bruising. By tomorrow he would be fine.

Despite it all, his first day as a student had been one of the best in his life.

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 4**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 18 (43)**

**Fortitude: 25 (61)**

**Dexterity: 15 (36)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**  
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**  
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **[Aura Control: Level 2]**  
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 22%   
All Aura abilities are 20% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 1]**  
Create a force field around your body to ward off harm.   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 11(13) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 2]**  
Your weapons are conduits for aura.   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 12(14) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level 1]**  
Hasten the recovery of injuries with your aura.   
While injured, drain up to 1 Aura/hour to speed recovery by 110(132) %.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 1]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 40(48) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 1]**  
By filling your muscles with aura, they grow and become stronger.   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 11(13) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.5xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 1]**  
With deep breathing and concentration, you can affect certain aspects of Aura   
Aura Recovery Rate +110% while meditating.

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)**  
Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)**  
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 1] (Passive)**  
Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 10%


	8. School Days II

“Gather around students! Gather around!” the stout Professor Port called out.

“Today, we will be venturing deep into the Forever Fall Forest. I, the mighty and powerful Peter Port, will be your guide. You will experience firsthand the most common quest of a huntsman. We will be completing an expedition!” Get into your groups and party up with your scrolls.”

A new application had been installed into their scrolls early this morning. The program allows for precise monitoring of aura through one’s scroll. The application is used in every huntsman academy around Remnant. Even professionals use one that integrates with the same system.

By assigning party members you can synchronize your device with theirs. This allows your scroll to display the aura of everyone in your group. Additionally, once you are signed up with the system, it tracks the Grimm kills that you have earned. It even tracked how many Grimm Jaune and Pyrrha slew during initiation.

Jaune, Ren, Pyrrha, and Nora all synced their devices and made their way over to the professor.

“Wonderful! With all the boring techno-mumbo-jumbo out of the way, we can begin. For today’s expedition, you are free to spread out. But you must keep within range of your fellow teams.”

For whatever reason, the professor had decided to stick close to team JNPR.

“Well then students, get going! We have Grimm to slay!” The professor declared.

As they marched, Jaune decided to make use of the time with their professor. He would be lying if he said he wasn't trying to distract him from beginning another story.

“Sir, why does the school keep track of our Grimm kills? What’s the point?” He asked.

“Excellent question! As you may know, Beacon does not offer our students a scholarship. As extravagant as our school may be, we have our expenses. The expenses of our students would wreak havoc on our budget. You students chew through dust and ammunition as part of your training. You require repairs and upgrades, and some of you will wind up paying for tutoring. With no income, you would soon be squeezed dry. But! The vale council and our headmaster have an agreement of sorts. Students can be paid for their services in exterminating Grimm. We track your kills so we can appropriately pay you for your work.” He explained.

Jaune was shocked. He knew he would run into an issue with money sooner or later, he was worried he would have to take up a part-time job in the city.

“Is the pay… good?” Jaune asked, not wanting to sound particularly greedy.

The professor laughed, “That depends on you, my boy. The area around Beacon is a permanent hotspot of Grimm activity. The Emerald Forest and the Forever Fall Forest constantly attract and create Grimm. You could certainly make some spending money by hunting the Grimm who appear nearby. However, there are dozens of other students at this academy, and all are in the same position as you. Your skill as a huntsman and your success as a team will determine how good the pay is.”

“However, luck can always be a factor. Today is a fantastic example. We aren’t out here today to try and thin the ordinary herd of Grimm, today we have a special task in mind. This forest has become host to a nightmare stone.”

“A nightmare stone?” Jaune asked. He wasn’t familiar with the term.

“Indeed. You will learn more about them in your history classes. They have played a role in how the kingdoms have grown, and how they have fallen. While the academies seem to constantly attract Grimm, these stones worsen the situation. For now, all you need to know is…”

The man’s back straightened and he took in a deep breath.

_No..._

“They appear out of thin air. One moment, you could be living in a peaceful settlement, the next, a war zone. Powerful Grimm are called from the wilderness toward the epicenter of the disaster. Newborn Grimm appear around it, and that’s not even the worst of it! The stones are always accompanied by a guardian, an evolved, more powerful Grimm. The species isn’t always the same from stone to stone. But they’re always smarter, more cunning, more devious, and of course, much more dangerous. For an expedition, huntsmen have four jobs. We locate the territory of the Grimm. We infiltrate, either through stealth or force. We exterminate the guardian and any Grimm that have been attracted. Then we destroy the stone. Why I can remember a time when-”

The professor had officially entered storytelling mode. Like a switch had been flicked, Jaune and his team tuned out. Jaune started whispering to his team.

“Did you guys know about this? My dad was a huntsman and I knew he would leave to take on the occasional job, but nothing like this.” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha shook her head, “I don’t know much about Grimm other than what types there are.”

Ren and Nora looked at each other.

“We didn’t know what they were called. But yeah, we knew of something like this. We… saw what happens to a town when a stone appears when we were younger...” Ren explained.

“The town was overrun.” Nora finished.

Pyrrha gasped, “That’s terrible. Did it appear inside the town? With no warning?”

They nodded.

“Is this something we should consider doing as a team? I don’t know about you guys, but I could use the money, and it doesn’t sound like there is much money to be made in regular patrols.” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha explained that she didn’t need the money, but she would of course join the team. It was their job after all. Ren and Nora both showed a desire to do something about them if they could.

“I’ll get some advice and get back to you all about it. Something tells me they don't just let students go out on missions after their second day.”

They all looked at the teacher.

“It was around this point when I and 300 strong men armed with spears and shields took on the Grimm army. They were 10,000 units strong, each as powerful as a-”

He was still going.

“Right. Well… Pyrrha, you take point. You have the best vision of us all with your rifle. Ren, you take the rear, nothing should get behind us, but just in case you’ve got our backs. I’ll take the left flank and Nora you take the right flank. I considered a few things last night; this should be our go-to formation. We can make changes if we need to, but for now, get used to this. “ Jaune commanded.

This was his first mission as a leader, even if it was with the training wheels still on. He would make sure he did his best. No one spoke out in protest of his decision and after a collective nod, they moved into their new formation. Professor Port seamlessly moved into the center of the formation.

“You made that look easy,” Ruby said from beside him.

“Ruby! What are you doing over here, shouldn’t you be with your team?” He asked.

He looked around the forest for her team. Sure enough, in the distance was a group of 3. Weiss had broken ahead of the other two. There was enough distance between them to make communication difficult. Yang and Blake, the dark-haired girl, didn't seem to mind the fact that half their team was away.

“That’s why I’m over here actually. I heard you, you know? You gave the word and they moved. I try that and it’s chaos all over again. What did you do to get your team working so smooth?” She asked.

Jaune looked at his team members, they looked fairly sympathetic. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora had mentioned overhearing an argument while Jaune was bedridden.

“Well, to be honest, it doesn’t have anything to do with me.” He laughed.

“Correct me if I’m wrong guys, but do any of you want to be a leader instead of me?”

His three team members were instantly shaking their heads dismissing the concept.

“I didn’t think so.”

Jaune turned back to Ruby.

“The reason they followed that ‘order’ is because none of them wanted to give their own. I’m sure they’ll let me know if I’m doing something wrong, but we’re just walking after all. With a professor no less.”

Ruby pouted at the explanation.

“Don’t suppose you want to swap then. My partner has done nothing but complain all day about how I’m not leader material and keeps trying to take over. My sister keeps babying me, and her partner doesn’t say a word about anything.”

_Wow, talk about a rough start._

“Have you tried… saying it straight? They may not like it but you are the leader now, the headmaster said he chose us for a reason. You should put your foot down. We both saw what you could do, you earned your place here.” Jaune offered.

“Excellent advice my boy! Ms. Rose what you have heard is correct. The headmaster has never in his years chosen a leader that didn’t deserve it, even if they didn’t show it at first. Trust in yourself and show them you are their leader.” Professor Port declared.

Apparently, he had overheard their discussion. No one was certain if he finished his story or not, but he was finished now. He left team JNPR and headed with Ruby over to where her team is. Seeing the professor, Weiss dropped back, closer to the rest of the team. Ruby now took the forward position. Occasionally she would speed off ahead, scouting for threats before they got in reach of her team.

“It was nice of you to encourage Ruby like that Jaune,” Pyrrha stated.

“I didn’t do much. Come on, we better pick up the pace. We haven’t encountered a single Grimm yet and the other teams are starting to move faster.”

**/-/**

It was a few miles of ground covered before the first Grimm appeared. A small pack of Beowolves was lured out by Ruby and swiftly dismantled by her team. After the first blood was spilled the expedition got a bit more interesting.

The deeper they pushed into the forest the more Grimm they encountered. The 4 teams compacted into a larger hunting party over time to manage this. A semi-circle was formed with Professor Port at the center of it. The student’s cut their way deeper into the forest. Every Grimm that had the misfortune of crossing their path was eradicated. It was mostly Beowolves, with the occasional Ursa Minor mixed in. Under the conditions, there wasn’t a single injury sustained or point of aura lost thus far.

“Keep up the good work students! The deeper we go the more dangerous it will get." The professor declared.

"This nightmare stone has been appraised as having a low threat level. More dangerous threat levels need more manpower to deal with. Remember the formation we are in right now. For the missions of the highest danger, even professional huntsmen will form raiding parties. This formation is very effective for those situations. The crescent formation is your best bet for steady progress with little risk of injury. Defensive, simple, smart; don't forget it."

As a leader, Jaune understood the value of learning the formations. He hadn't realized it was equally important for the rest of the team to learn them too. If he called a formation and his team didn't know it, they couldn't follow his command. Having names for his strategies and formations would be very important.

_I could call one… Ultimate Smashy Slashy Hammer Sword Strike!_

_Okay, no… Nora would probably like it, but it is a little long..._

As Jaune looked around, he noticed none of the other teams had injuries. True to the professors' words, the formation was effective. But as they delved further into the forest, things got more intense.

What had started as small packs of Beowolves turned into dozens. They threw their bodies against the wall of spears and swords. The Ursa Minor began showing up in groups of two and three. Every time they did, the whole group had to stop and deal with them, which meant more Grimm would catch up to them. The Ursa Minor aren't as dangerous as their Major cousins. But when a team had to deal with one while holding formation against the Grimm, things were more hectic.

Team JNPR was fortunate that their team composition was well balanced. Pyrrha was a powerhouse, there was no situation she couldn't work well in. Singlehandedly she managed to thin the herd and lessen the stress on her team. Jaune and Nora were both power fighters, striking hard and fast. The Ursa Minor were resistant to weaker strikes, but they fell to Jaune and Nora's strength. Ren had difficulty deal with the Ursa in this manner, his strikes did less damage. What he did have going for him was the speed and frequency of his attacks. The Beowolves fell to his flurry of strikes left and right as he dashed amongst them.

Where team JNPR was working to their strengths, Ruby's team was beginning to crack. Their teamwork was lacking and it showed. Often they would be finishing each other's targets. Wide-range attacks were risking friendly fire or getting cut off. Weiss in particular was beginning to become very vocal with her frustrations. For a team of huntresses that were likely stronger than him, they didn’t make a very impressive showing.

The final team was doing fine in their way. Mr. Winchester, as Jaune knew him, had his team working more like 4 individuals. It wasn't as effective, but they were each strong by themselves and held their own.

Now and then a Grimm would break the line or sneak behind the group. They all met their fate at the end of a double-bladed axe, or with a cannonball through their chest. The professor told some pretty grand stories. But when push came to shove he was taking down Grimm with a single strike every single time. He was not a professor for no reason.

“Those of you who need to, retreat behind me. No point injuring yourselves before the real fight begins. We will hold this position until their numbers dwindle, and that will be our moment!” The professor declared.

True to his word the moment did come. In total, the fight had only lasted a few minutes, though it felt like hours. In that short time, it had cost them their aura and a great deal of stamina. But eventually, the number of Grimm decreased to the point where there were at most 2 teams fighting at a time.

Jaune had relied on his team heavily to get through. Pyrrha had been in full force, cutting down Grimm by the dozens. Despite this, Jaune was out of breath and his aura had dropped by roughly 5 points. His efforts during the fight had leveled a few of his skills. His Aura channeling in particular saw a lot of use through the encounter.

“Well done students, well done! Remember what that fight felt like. If you choose to fight your way through, you can always expect at least one encounter like this. Its difficulty will depend on the strength of the nightmare stone. But you can always expect a hoard of this size or greater when you infiltrate their territory. The Grimm will communicate with each other. The more you fight, the more you will attract."

"Take 5 minutes to recover and catch your breath. When you have done so, I want a volunteer team to take on the guardian. Consider it a chance to prove yourselves as huntsmen and huntresses.” The professor requested.

Immediately Weiss called out, “Our team will do it, Professor!”

There was a hushed discussion between their team after the outburst.

Eventually Ruby called out to the professor, “My team would like to volunteer sir.”

“Such enthusiasm! Fine huntresses indeed! Very well, Team Ruby(RWBY) will fight the guardian.”

Jaune was worried. Her team hadn’t performed amazingly earlier. This was clearly Weiss’ idea, not something the whole team may have wanted. He doubted that Ruby had planned for this, likely she only agreed due to the situation between her and Weiss.

“Rest up or do whatever it is you guys need to do. I want to check on team RWBY for a second.” Jaune explained to his team.

“Hey, guys!” He called out to the group as he approached.

“Ugh, what do you want?” Weiss scoffed.

Ignoring her, Yang and Ruby greeted him.

“Ready to watch us totally kick ass?” Yang asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty excited.” He lied, “You think you guys will do okay?”

“I’m sure we will be fine,” Ruby responded.

Weiss jumped up at this, “We will do more than fine. We will perform to the best of our abilities and earn ourselves the respect of our peers and instructors.”

Ruby visibly wilted at this exclamation. This overzealous attitude was probably what she had been dealing with all day. Jaune didn’t want to start any arguments within the team.

“You’re right. You guys are all pretty strong after all. Ruby, can I get your help with something real quick?” He gestured toward his team.

As Ruby made her way in that direction, Yang called out.

“First me, now you’re making moves on my sister lover boy?”

Jaune was about to deny it all, but when he saw the smug look on her face he knew she was just teasing him again. It had been a while since they spoke, he had almost forgotten what she was like.

“Maybe I like the newer model better.” He quipped back, earning a laugh.

Ruby wasn’t as happy to be used as the medium for their little back and forth. Jaune was sure she knew it was only a joke, but he could see she was blushing as she pouted. Regardless, she followed Jaune a small distance away from her team.

“Are you guys going to be fine dealing with the guardian? Teamwork problems aren’t fixed in a few hours, and this could be dangerous.” Jaune asked.

Ruby sighed, “I don’t know. We learned a bit about guardian Grimm at Signal. They’re harder to kill. Not necessarily that different from other Grimm, just larger and stronger. We have to do this thought. If I backed out now, Weiss would just have another excuse to think I’m not leader material.”

_Good point. This could be the perfect opportunity to prove herself._

“You’re right. Do your best, I’ll be rooting for you, and we are all going to be nearby watching anyway. If you make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world.” He encouraged.

Finally Ruby cracked a smile. Between the pouting and the sighing, it was the first positive look she had given today.

“Thanks, Jaune. We should get back to our teams though, our 5 minutes is going to be up soon.”

**/-/**

The teams had gotten their rest, and they moved in their regular 13-man formation. The occasional Grimm showed its face but was dealt with easily.

After a few miles like this, they reached an area where the ground had been dug up. The many trees and plants were pulled out of the ground or ripped and splintered by some large force. Ahead they could hear the squealing and snorting of something big.

“Students. Team RWBY will be taking this fight on by themselves, I will be on standby in case they need help. The rest of you, take a perimeter around the area, but within range. I want each of you to watch the fight, but we are still in dangerous territory. This is a learning experience, but you must still be on guard.” The professor explained, speaking just loud enough to be heard, but not to alert the Grimm ahead.

As they walked the damage to the plant life became more thorough. After a few minutes, they entered a clearing. In the center of this clearing was a large black stone. It reflected light like a crystal, but it had a visibly rough surface. Pooling around the stone was a thin puddle of black liquid. It looked like the venom which had come out of the Deathstalker, but much darker. Even in the sunlight, it was black.

Circling the stone was a large Boar with curved tusks that it dragged through the earth around the stone. Its body was covered in thick plates of bone. It didn’t take long before its blood-red eyes caught sight of the group. Preparing to charge it began to paw at the ground.

Team RWBY was given the green light to engage and they approached the center of the clearing. The other teams spread out around the border of the clearing.

“Hmph. Let’s end this quickly.” Weiss said as she strode ahead of her team.

True to her words, she opened fire immediately. Balls of fire exploded on the hide of the beast, leaving black burn marks across the bone plates.

The creature barely moved an inch from the impact. It let out a squeal and immediately charged her position.

Weiss stood before the creature as it approached while the rest of her team moved out of the way of the charge. Weiss summoned a strange symbol in the middle of the air. It was different from her usual spells, lacking the use of dust and not elementally themed.

With the magic circle in place, she began manipulating more of her dust for her next attack.

The beast crashed into the glyph, smashing it to nonexistence. It had been slowed by the impact, but it continued its charge toward Weiss.

“What?!” Weiss cried in shock.

The boar would have run her down in her position had she not been pushed out of the road by a blur of red rose petals. Ruby had sped in at the last moment and saved Weiss from the head-on collision. In doing so, she left herself open to take the hit herself.

Ruby had managed to absorb some of the impact by moving with it and pushing herself away with her weapon. Even then she was still thrown to the edge of the clearing.

“Ruby!” Yang shouted.

In an instant, Yang’s hair lit up like fire and she was upon the creature. She struck it in the side, cracking one of its armor plates. The strike had caused her to take some damage from the recoil of striking such a hard and heavy object. It didn’t stop Yang from striking again.

This punch was louder than the last. Each punch in the combo that followed echoed with increasing intensity. Every time she attacked her aura rippled as it soaked up the damage she would have sustained. Slowly these strikes began to lift the hulking creature off the ground from the force.

Blake threw her weapon, a bladed handgun with a black ribbon attached to the handle. It wrapped around the tusk of the airborne creature. With a pull, she twisted the currently weightless creature midair. When Yang finally stopped attacking, the creature dropped onto its side. The ground shook as it landed.

Unlike the rest of the creature, its underbelly was completely unarmored. Seeing this, Weiss summoned another symbol beneath her own feet. It propelled her at great speeds towards the belly of the beast. Using her increased velocity she stuck her rapier up to the handle inside of it.

The monster squealed in pain and scrambled to its feet, dashing away. The rapier was left stuck within its belly, disarming Weiss.

Jaune watched from the sidelines, his whole body tense and ready to race in if necessary. Within the short seconds that this fight had lasted, things had gone about as poorly as possible. Ruby was able to stand, but she was still recovering from the blow. Weiss was disarmed, losing not just her blade, but the container for her dust. Yang and Blake were the only remaining fully capable fighters. He wanted to do something to help, and he would have if it weren’t for the professor’s commentary.

“And what will you do now? Disarmed, injured, and separated! Things are getting interesting!”

Professor Port had his weapon in hand, but it wasn’t aimed at the creature. He seemed more than content to continue watching for now. Jaune trusted in his judgement and held himself back.

“We need to knock it over again. Yang, could you manage that a second time?” Ruby asked.

“That last time was my best attempt and it wasn’t paying attention to me when I hit it, I don’t think it will let me do that again,” Yang replied.

Ruby turned and called out to Weiss, “Weiss, can you use those symbols again?”

“Not without my weapon, I need it to channel my Semblance.” She yelled back.

“Fine. We need it to stop moving for a few seconds.”

“I’m on it,” Blake stated.

Blake ran toward the beast, her weapon shifting into the form of a katana. Ruby followed behind her, circling to the creature’s flank.

Seeing Blake’s approach, the creature charged. Blake stood ready for it, and it looked as though she was about to take the impact head-on. At the last moment, her whole body turned to stone. Or at least, that’s what it had looked like at first. In the air, above the creature was Blake, she had left behind a copy of herself made of stone. The creature, mindless in its violence, ran headfirst into it. The stone crumbled, but not without rebuffing the creature. It bounced back and stopped for a mere second. A second which did not go unused. Ruby transformed into a burst of petals from behind and race under its legs. She ripped out the rapier from its torso and threw it as far toward Weiss as she could.

Weiss dashed forwards and collected her weapon. She immediately beset upon the beast with ice and lightning, gathering its attention.

“Weiss! Sweep its legs with your Semblance.” Ruby called out as she ran behind the charging beast.

Weiss summoned her glyph on the ground ahead of her in the path of the charge. As soon as the boar stepped onto the glyph its front legs accelerated towards its rear. Losing its footing, its front half hit and slid across the ground.

With the beast off balance, Yang struck it as hard as she could. Without its feet able to steady itself, it rolled from its face onto its side.

When she caught up to it a few seconds later, Ruby struck the tip of her scythe into the beast's unarmored belly. She fired rounds behind her as she ran, dragging her scythe through the dense flesh of its loin to its neck.

When she finished her cut, the creature let out a furious squeal, but it moved no more.

Ruby had managed to land the finishing blow to the beast.

“Bravo! Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of true huntresses in training.” The professor shouted.

“Now, there is but one thing left to do!”

He strode up to the black stone in the center of the clearing and swung his weapon into it. Upon contact, the rock exploded into black smoke. It was like that which was coming out of the now dissolving Grimm.

“With the guardian dead, the nightmare stone becomes incredibly weak. Note that if necessary you can break the stone with extreme force. But slaying the guardian is the fastest way, when possible.”

Their job completed, Jaune wasted no time in excusing himself from his group to check up on Ruby and Yang.

“Are you two okay?”

Yang flexed her arm, “Totally fine!”

Ruby sighed, “Yeah, we are fine. It would have been worse if Weiss got hit while she was flat-footed like that.”

“True. You did a good job with that. If she still tries to act like you’re not fit to be a leader, then she is just an idiot.” He responded with a laugh.

“Who is an idiot?” Weiss asked from behind while Yang and Ruby laughed.

“No one. Me, I think. I’m going to go. Good fight you guys.” He said as he retreated to the safety of his team.

As he rejoined his team the professor called out to the class.

“That’s enough resting, our job here is done! We are heading back to the bullhead. The forest is still dangerous so stay on guard.”

**/-/**

After their return to Beacon, the professor gave everyone permission to leave. He had set a research project for each team before he did so. It involved learning about the species of Grimm that team RWBY had fought, a Boarbatusk. An assignment that Jaune was more than willing to complete for his own sake as well as his grades.

As the other groups all went their own way, Team JNPR decided what they wanted to do with the rest of their day.

“I’m getting something to eat, I’m starving!” Nora complained.

“I guess that means I’m going to be cooking for a while then, do you guys want to join us? I’m making pancakes.” Ren asked.

“That sounds lovely,” Pyrrha replied.

Jaune thought for a moment before responding.

“I’ll meet up with you guys, but I want to do something first, is that alright?”

They all nodded and headed off to the cafeteria to get started.

Jaune pulled out his scroll and contacted Coco.

“Hey. How do I cash in my Grimm kills?”

After a few minutes, he got his response.

“In the main hall where the headmaster gives his yearly speech, there’s a machine. You can synch your scroll with it and it’ll payout.”

_She’s probably still in class._

“Thanks,” he texted back.

Jaune headed to the main hall where he found the machine off to the side. Connecting his scroll to it he read the display which showed how much he would be paid for his kills.

Team JP   
21x Beowolves: 105 Lien   
1 Deathstalker: 500 Lien

Team JNPR   
32 Beowolves: 80 Lien   
3 Ursa Minor: 22 Lien

Team JNPR + RWBY   
1 Giant Nevermore: 200 Lien

Total 907 Lien

_That’s… Not as much as I was expecting. It’s impressive that it somehow knows exactly who was involved in the kills and splits it evenly. But if this is what I can expect after 2 outings… There has to be a better way._

Jaune confirmed the transaction and pocketed the few Lien cards that came out of the machine.

**/-/**

Lunch had been interesting. Ren had made pancakes which were better than any he had tried before. If he had turned out to be hiding a chef skill, it wouldn’t come as a surprise. Nora had been inhaling them as if her life depended on it. Neither he nor Pyrrha had a chance to eat until she finished her share.

He let his team know about the result of his errand. Pyrrha didn’t seem too bothered, likely a result of the tournament prize money she had saved up. But Ren and Nora both realized that this could become problematic.

If every class was to be like the one today, then they would be in trouble. They had all expended dust and ammunition which needed to be replaced. They were lucky that this time they didn't need to perform any repairs. But it's not uncommon after a fight that something needs replacing. If they couldn't afford the upkeep of their gear they would fall behind in classes. Then it would be even harder to earn money until eventually they were completely broke.

Because he was weaker than his team he would be holding them back. Every time they covered for him it cost them money. To make matters worse, he didn't get stronger through leveling. While the others could grow stronger as they earned money, he would fall behind even further. He would have to split his time between earning money working and training himself. Add on his extra tasks as the team leader and it meant that Coco's words would be more true than even she had known. He wouldn't have a day off for a long time to come.

Jaune said his goodbyes and gave thanks to Ren for cooking and headed off to train. He had a problem to fix and no clue where to start, so he relied on a lesson he had learned from his father.

‘You may not know the answer to a problem. But doing nothing rarely solves it.’

He may not know how to fix the money situation, but he could make his best effort to lessen his impact on the situation.

He spent the afternoon training with his aura. A large part of why he had been so focused on his aura these last few days was down to circumstance. He had needed the training, and it was being offered to him. But today had highlighted another important reason, Semblances were important.

It seemed like such an obvious conclusion to draw. One’s unique superpower that stretches the limits of what is possible. But when team RWBY had clinched out a win against the Boarbatusk, it was made clearer than ever. If Ruby hadn’t had her super speed, she wouldn’t have been able to save Weiss or recover the rapier. Yang’s punches were enhanced. As she took damage from the recoil of her strikes, she got so much stronger instead of weaker. Blake’s clones saved her own life, allowing her to taunt the Grimm without consequence. Being able to infuse them with dust only made them stronger. Even Weiss, who had almost made a fatal mistake, played an important role in the fight. Her glyphs gave her unparalleled control of the battlefield.

If any of them had been in the fight without having unlocked their Semblance, they would have lost.

With a goal in mind beyond just 'increasing all his skill levels', he trained. Fueled by knowing that the more effort he put in, the closer he would come to discover his Semblance, he diligently worked on each aspect. From the basic control training to the skills themselves. When he ran out of aura he would meditate to recover and start all over again.

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 6 [+2]**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 18 (43)**

**Fortitude: 25 (61)**

**Dexterity: 15 (36)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **[Aura Control: Level 3]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 23%   
All Aura abilities are 30% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 2]**   
Create a force field around your body to ward off harm.   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 12(15) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 3]**   
Your weapons are conduits for aura.   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 13(16) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level 2]**   
Hasten the recovery of injuries with your aura.   
While injured, drain up to 1 Aura/hour to speed recovery by 120(156) %.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 2]**   
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 50(65) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 1]**   
By filling your muscles with aura, they grow and become stronger.   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 11(13) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.5xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 2]**   
With deep breathing and concentration, you can affect certain aspects of Aura Aura Recovery Rate +120% while meditating.

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)**   
Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60% Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 1] (Passive)**   
Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 10%


	9. School Days III

For an academy of such renown and prestige, reliable staff members can be difficult to get a hold of.

Jaune had considered Professor Port. His propensity to get sidetracked mid-conversation to tell a tale would chew up too much time. A conversation with him wasn't worth the trouble. Professor Goodwitch had been his next option. Unfortunately, she was holding a class for the Caster Type students today. He hadn't yet met any of the other teachers, it would feel uncomfortable to seek them out for help. There was one professor left though.

So that left him here. Sitting in the headmaster’s office, watching him drink coffee.

“How nice of you to visit Mr. Arc, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Professor Ozpin asked.

“I’m here to request information about taking on jobs. My team and I believe that regular hunting would be insufficient use of our time. My team members have to restock and repair their gear after our classes. I need armor as well, continuing to fight in just my clothes isn't going to work forever. Rather than slaying Beowolves one at a time in the forests, my team and I would make better use of our time in other ways.” Jaune explained.

“You make a strong case for yourself Mr. Arc. It's good to see you taking your role seriously and getting on top of things before they become a problem. You are the first team leader to come and see a staff member about this. Fortunately, taking on jobs is a core part of your curriculum. Eventually, each team will have to complete at least one to graduate to the second year. So, with that said, what would you like to know?”

_Well, that was easier than expected._

“How can we see information about the currently available jobs? I doubt that we are expected to stumble across them and deal with them on the spot. If possible, I would like to be able to monitor what jobs are available.”

The professor set down his drink and interacted with his scroll. A moment later, an alert was triggered on Jaune’s.

“You should now be able to view all the available jobs. You can request any of them that you wish. Your request will be reviewed by all relevant members of staff. If they all allow it, you will be given the job and permission to skip classes until the job is complete.”

_Much easier than expected..._

The professor continued, “Of course, there are some conditions. To skip your classes, it is expected that you are either ahead of schedule, or willing to play catch up. Your team’s performance will also be evaluated during your classes. If your team is underperforming, you will be denied permission to take on jobs until your team is ready.”

_There it is._

“That means the entire team. If one member is falling behind, then the whole team will be held back. As a leader, it’s your job to ensure everyone is up to standard.”

_Theeere it is._

“I'm sure that won't be an issue though. Is there anything else I can help you with Mr. Arc?”

“No, thank you.”

**/-/**

“So that’s the situation,” Jaune explained to his team.

“Chances are we won’t get approved before the first week is through. The teachers don’t know enough about us to let us go straight away,” said Ren.

“That gives us time to get used to working as a team at least?” Pyrrha added.

“Time for the teachers to find out how far behind the curve I am more like,” Jaune stated with a sigh. “I’m going to go train. Do any of you want to join me? It’s a day off, so you don’t have to.”

“Me and Renny had something planned in Vale today, sorry Jauney,” said Nora.

“I’ll join you Jaune. We can be training partners. If you want to, I mean.” Pyrrha offered.

“Sure, sounds good. Catch you guys when you get back?” He asked the other pair.

They nodded, and the two pairs headed off.

Pyrrha and Jaune collected their gear from their lockers and headed outside. Unlike their first team training, they weren't looking to find each other's limits. They could enjoy the fresh air of the academy grounds rather than the training rooms.

“I was thinking...” said Pyrrha.

“Yeah?” Jaune prompted.

"Well... You've got a lot of aura, and you've been training a lot to get better at using it. I've never been very focused on my aura, but I've got a lot of sword and shield skills. I thought maybe we could train together on those. The better your physical skills, the more use you can get out of your aura after all."

It was a reasonable idea, and not one he hadn’t considered. If Pyrrha was offering to share what she knew, he would be a fool not to accept her help. Training from her would likely be even better than the training with his father had been. He had plenty of time to work on his aura skills when he didn't have partners and instructors for other things.

“What did you have in mind?” he asked.

“I was thinking we could spar.”

Seeing his face drop at the concept she quickly added, “I wouldn’t go all out! I could focus on technique and strategy. I’ll fight at a level you can learn from.”

His ego felt that.

Jaune drew his sword and transformed his shield.

“Let’s go then!” He said.

His father had always said that the best way to learn was by making as many mistakes as possible. Against his partner, the champion, he was ready to make a lot of mistakes.

Pyrrha drew her weapons, and the fight began.

**/-/**

The first spar lasted barely a few seconds. Jaune's first blow was deflected, redirecting his momentum to knock him off balance.

Pyrrha followed up by grappling his overextended sword arm and throwing him.

Several of the spars that followed ended the same way. She waited for Jaune to make the first move. She would deflect, parry and block the strike before countering with her own. Never in a way that took out a lot of aura by striking his body hard, but always in a way that put him on his backside. Every time she winded and grounded him was a moment of reflection.

The pattern revealed itself eventually, he wasn't blind. Pyrrha was taking advantage of his tendency to over commit. His strength alone would never compare to Pyrrha's technique and strengths combined.

So he would stop relying on it.

The next round started much the same. Pyrrha got right inside Jaune’s perfect range and waited. This time, however, Jaune didn't jump at the opportunity given to him. Instead, he probed his partner's defenses.

His light thrust was rebuffed as Pyrrha subtly moved her shield, then her strike followed. This time, however, Jaune was ready for it.

With his feet planted firmly and his balance under control, he copied her strategy. His defense wasn’t as technically brilliant, but it stopped her attack. An opening was created for him to strike again.

Thus began their first real spar. Back and forth they would trade blows, one after the other. After a few minutes of this, Pyrrah stepped it up. She stopped letting Jaune take his counterattacks by using multiple strikes in a row. Her blocks were followed much more closely by her return strikes. When the impacts on his shield pushed him back, Pyrrha stepped in, forcing him to give up ground.

At this pace, Jaune eventually slipped up, trying to interrupt a barrage with a strike of his own. The strike that landed dizzied him for just a moment, but it was enough. The distraction allowed Pyrrha to land a more decisive hit that downed him.

“That was much better!” Pyrrha exclaimed happily.

Checking his scroll he saw that after the spar, Pyrrha had lost almost no aura. Her skill with a shield and her trained body allowed her to absorb the hits much more effectively. In comparison, Jaune had lost roughly a fifth of his aura. Pyrrha hadn't landed any single devastating blow, but the repeated hits added up.

Pushing himself back up and shaking off the leftover dizziness he asked, “Again?”

**/-/**

3 rounds he had lasted in total at that level. He could have kept going, but after the last fight, he dropped below half capacity. The risk of injury increased as his aura dropped, so they agreed to stop for now.

Once the sparring was no longer an option, Pyrrha offered an alternative. She called it technical sparring.

The rules were the same as regular sparring with some exceptions. You threw your strikes at a less intense pace, and you took turns. As the strike approached you had more time to analyze, while still needing fast reactions. Once you defend, you respond with a counter-attack.

Pyrrha used her experience to coach Jaune. She would point out more efficient angles for his shield to catch a blow. Point out areas he was not defending properly by striking at them. It wouldn't make him an expert, but it would give Jaune options. Options that would one day, hopefully, form a style of his own.

The slow-paced fighting was only suitable as a warm-up or cool-down exercise. It did allow the participants some degree of recovery. But without real rest or meditation, aura was slow to regenerate.

Jaune had spent the last few days getting an in-depth read on what the numbers in his status mean. Strength and fortitude had been described to him by Pyrrha, how they counted in combat at least. Dexterity had been more complicated. He imagined that normally he would have an instructor teach him these things in a prep school. If he asked a teacher now, it would be suspicious.

So Jaune had been experimenting. As it turned out, aura, under ideal conditions, recovered fully given 8 hours of quality rest. Depending on your mental, physical and environmental factors, your recovery speed can drop. It had not been easy to measure, but it seemed that combat was intense enough that aura could not regenerate.

Meditation was a multiplier on this rate of aura regeneration and an exception to the 8-hour rule. The more effective you were at meditation the more effective your recovery. At Jaune's current skill level it would take him 2 hours to recover from the last few minutes of combat. Compared to his stamina, it didn't last very long at all. Despite the length of the training though, it had already shown some results.

Pyrrha’s advice and the time invested had raised his shield skill. Every strike he had fended off with his shield and aura also had the effect of training his aura shield skill. Two skills that synergized with each other to reduce incoming damage. The more damage he absorbed with his shield, the less his aura had to do. Any damage that made it past his shield was absorbed more efficiently. As these skills grew, he would be able to train longer and with more intensity.

Training his skills wasn't the only thing he could do either. Since unlocking his class, skill training had been his focus. But he had the most experience with the daily grind of training his base attributes. Jaune had always put the most effort into this type of training back home.

He needed his aura to spar, train his skills, and for just about everything else. But he didn’t need aura to run. On days where aura training or sparring was to be his focus, he could meditate to get back into things faster. But on all other days, he could spend his recovery time running laps, doing pushups and squats. Even doing sword and footwork drills would be valid methods for him to chew up his time.

So rather than meditating today, he got Pyrrha to show him what she had been doing last time they trained.

It was a series of motions and forms. they went through different strikes, evasive movements, and defensive techniques. Supposedly it was based on martial arts then adapted for weapons. Less attention was given to visualization or image training than shadow sparring. Instead, it focused on your movements, cutting down wasted movement. You performed each step individually, one at a time, ensuring perfect form.

So Jaune ran his laps, noting how much faster he was and how much further he could run before tiring. His increased attributes and aura naturally helped him recover. When he did finally run out of steam he moved onto form training. As he trained, he and Pyrrha would talk of everything that had happened in the last few days. They had both been so run off their feet with classes that they hadn't had the chance to process everything. When his aura had recovered, they would spar again.

It had been hard work, and they had trained together until the sun dipped below the horizon. Hopefully, it would be enough for tomorrow’s class.

**/-/**

“Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester!” Professor Goodwitch called from the center of the arena.

“Good luck Jaune!” Pyrrha said from his side.

“Break a leg!” Nora excitedly requested.

Jaune made his way down to the arena.

It was the moment he had been waiting for, though not excitedly. Combat classes were a valuable learning experience. A chance to test yourself against other students. Receive invaluable feedback from a huntress with years of experience.

It was also a spectacle where your failings were put on show for everyone to see.

Cardin was a team leader just like Jaune. No doubt he was at least as talented as everyone else here. He wielded a mace if it could be called that. The head of his weapon was easily as large as the man’s torso. It was intimidating with large spiked flanges. Despite how heavy this weapon must have been, its wielder held it over his shoulder with a single arm. His armor was equally heavy looking. Thick plates of steel adorned with a golden bird covered his body. Before even considering his aura, strikes would be deflected off this defensive shell. His physical appearance was intimidating, to say the least. But the image was made all the more so by his class, Executioner.

“Same rules as the previous matches. If your aura drops into the red or you fall out of bounds, you lose.” The professor explained, just as she had every match prior.

The previous fights were tough to follow. Yang vs. Pyrrha had been a crazy spectacle. Jaune knew that they were both strong. It was likely that they were the top 2 fighters of the first-year students. Pyrrha’s varied fighting styles allowed her to respond to everything that Yang threw at her. Yang didn't disappoint, throwing a blinding flurry of strikes from the very start. Yang had been steadily gaining momentum as her Semblance fed off the combat. If she hadn’t missed her last blow by the inch she had, it could have ended in her favor. Instead, Pyrrha came out the victor, without having taken a single direct blow.

Weiss and Nora had gone head to head in a match that ended much faster than it should have. Weiss had started the match with a bolt of lightning dust that struck Nora before she had a chance to dodge. As it turned out, Nora’s Semblance was super strength fuelled by electricity. She blasted Weiss out of bounds shortly afterward. It was a mistake that neither Weiss nor the other students would make a second time.

Blake and Ren had faced off in what turned out to be the longest match of the day. Their attacks were similar, in the sense that a single one didn't deal much damage. Two speed based fighters facing off meant a lot of acrobatics and dodged strikes. Blake had taken the victory due to the advantage of her semblance. If Ren had a Semblance, he hadn't used it here.

Ruby had fought a member of team Cardinal(CRDL) in a one-sided matchup. Her opponent, a boy named Russel, had performed admirably. Unfortunately, Ruby's Semblance threw the power balance too heavily. Despite his remarkable swordsmanship and his impressive acrobatics, he was defeated.

Two members of team CRDL had been forced to fight each other. The fight showcased a little of what next week might look like. A situation where students knew what they were up against and had plans in place already.

Each of these fights left a positive image in Jaune’s mind, win or loss they had shown off their talents.

This is why, as the professor counted down for his match to begin, he was dreading the next few minutes. If he couldn’t perform well enough, he would be the stand-out student, for all the wrong reasons.

The buzzer rang and Jaune was prepared for what he expected to be a headfirst rush. With a weapon like that and no visible ranged component, his best chance was to strike hard and fast.

Instead, Cardin casually strolled towards him, his weapon lazily slung over his shoulder. He was looking at Jaune with a smirk, and when Jaune’s face scrunched up in confusion he dared to laugh.

“Well come on then, ‘Novice’. You’re supposed to be this year’s #1 right? Prove it.” He taunted.

Taking the bait, Jaune moved forwards to take the fight to him with a strong strike at his undefended left side.

Jaune had thought that the lack of shield would make it easier to land his strikes. Cardin had proved him wrong by stopping his blade in its tracks with the steel handle of his mace. Not a second later he was blown off his feet when something impacted his shield.

Jaune scrambled to his feet in a rush, ready for the follow-up. But it never came. Cardin continued to slowly march towards him with that same look on his face.

“Is that all you’ve got?” asked Cardin.

Jaune checked his scroll, his aura had dropped by 20% from that single strike. He had blocked it with his shield and it still managed to penetrate his defenses that far.

The shock of the situation shook him out of his angry stupor. Drawing from his experience training with Pyrrha, Jaune tried again.

He shuffled closer and probed at the boy’s defenses with lighter strikes. Each was pushed aside or caught by the shaft of his opponent’s weapon. Jaune tried striking at different heights. He thought that lifting that weapon up and down would be taxing due to its weight. But when Jaune struck at Cardin's legs, he moved his body in a way that the strike was taken on his armor. Jaune retreated and saw that while his strike hadn’t done much damage, it had landed cleanly.

With a new plan, Jaune moved back in. Quick thrusts and slashes were made at the boy's upper body and torso. Slowly his attacks lifted Cardin's guard and weapon upwards. With the opening in his defenses widened, Jaune took a committed swing at the boy's lower body. Even if he blocked it with his armor, with the added force it would deal a good amount of damage.

“Got you,” Cardin said as Jaune swung.

Jaune’s blade smashed into his opponent’s leg, taking a chunk of aura out with it. The victory was short-lived though. His opponent’s comment had drawn his attention up to look at his face. Cardin held his weapon high above his head and was beginning to bring it down atop him.

The mace faintly hummed with energy and as it came down towards him Cardin shouted.

“Coup de Grâce!”

Having put his all into attacking, Jaune was not in a position to lift his shield. Even if he were, this attack came from directly above him. He had positioned himself lower to the ground to strike fully at his legs.

The mace came down atop his back and crashed into his aura which he had managed to focus there in time. The weight of the blow forced him to the ground driving deep into his body which now had nowhere to go.

A buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the match. Jaune had been defeated in two strikes, and his defeat was a crushing one. He had managed to keep a small amount of his aura. This spared him from any chance of lethal harm, but even aura can’t save him from being crushed. He could feel the familiar twinge of bruised ribs impeding his breathing.

“A well-practiced gambit Mr. Winchester. Mr. Arc… Better luck next time.” Ms. Goodwitch stated.

She hadn’t even offered any feedback.

“This concludes our final match for the day. The Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won’t be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale. These lessons are meant to aid your training, not replace it, so keep practicing. Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale. You are dismissed.”

The majority of the students moved out. Ready for lunch or to train while they still had the motivation of the tournament fresh in their minds. Team JNPR was the only one to stay behind. Hearing the groans of discomfort from Jaune as he rolled onto his back, they moved over to assist.

“What even was that? It hit harder than that Deathstalker, all my aura just... gone.” Jaune asked, taking Ren’s offered hand to help himself up with.

“A skill. A lot of huntsmen don’t use them because of the risks involved, so it’s no surprise it’s your first time seeing one.” Pyrrha explained.

“Coup de grâce would be the name of his skill, to use it you must call out its name. That’s the first risk in using active skills, if your opponent knows what it does, you’re giving yourself away.” Ren added.

Pyrrha continued, “You would have missed it, but he stopped moving for a moment after striking. Most skills paralyze you for a moment after use, and they often have a cooldown between uses. If you land a skill it’s usually fine, but if you miss it gives your opponent a huge opportunity to counter-attack.”

“Skills are great for fighting against Grimm though, and if you have a partner to cover you it’s way safer!” said Nora.

“You said that you don’t use them, but do you have any?” Jaune asked.

They each nodded.

“I’ve got one I could teach you Jauney. It’s a skill that almost every warrior-type class learns early on, Heavy Strike.” Nora offered, “It’s a single strike which deals extra damage based on how heavy your weapon is. It works best with weapons like my Magnhild, but even Ren’s StormFlower can benefit from it.”

“I might take you up on that, but for now, I’m starving, let’s eat,” said Jaune.

**/-/**

“So... how were you planning on teaching me?” Jaune asked nervously as Nora approached him on the training grounds.

“Renny’s idea worked the other day, so I’ll just wing it like he did!” She happily replied as she lifted her warhammer high above her head.

“A-and Ren’s idea was....?” he stammered.

“Hit you really hard until you figure it out. Heavy Strike!”

_Clang_

Jaune took the blow on his shield, stepping backward away from the blow in fear. He had taken her blows once before already, he didn’t much like the idea of taking several of them in a row. The vibrations were already traveling up his arms through his shield.

“Can’t you at least give me some advice or something!? How is what you’re doing different from what you normally do?!” He shouted as he ducked under another swing.

“You just got to put your back into it! Heavy Strike!” The smile on her face as she relentlessly chased him down would haunt his dreams tonight.

So the pattern repeated. Nora would bounce toward him, activate the skill, and swing with her full force. Jaune would dodge or defend, then put as much distance between them while she was paralyzed.

“You can do it Jaune!” Pyrrha encouraged from the sidelines.

“Don’t hurt him permanently Nora!” Ren suggested.

“Heavy Strike!”

_Thunk_

“Can I have a turn?! I’ve totally got it now!” Jaune desperately lied.

“Hm? Oh! Sure!” Nora replied.

Better get this right! Put your back into it, think heavy.

“Heavy Strike?” He called out hesitantly.

It was a strange feeling that followed. It was as if he wasn’t 100% in control. His strike was met with a counter-strike from Nora, both attacks coming to a stop between them.

For just a moment, he couldn’t move, his breathing was restricted as his chest froze. It lasted only a second, but it was distracting enough that he didn’t respond in time to Nora’s follow up.

_Swish_

The head of Nora’s warhammer swung past his face, missing him by barely a fraction. She had pulled up at the last moment.

“Thanks for taking it easy on me there Nora. That would’ve hurt.” Said Jaune.

Pyrrha and Ren moved over to join them, they had seen the change in Jaune’s behavior.

“But I didn’t-” Nora started.

“That was me,” Pyrrha explained as she approached, overhearing Nora.

“My semblance is Polarity, the control of magnetism. I saw Jaune freeze up so I pulled your attack short. His aura control isn’t automatic yet so frozen up like that, a hit to the head could’ve killed him.”

The color drained from Jaune’s face. Nora gave him a hearty slap on the back which chunked away at his aura. Her apology for the accidental almost-manslaughter.

“Did you learn it?” Ren asked.

Jaune couldn’t notice anything different. No flood of information, no notification in his mind.

“I don’t think so. I definitely used it though. Maybe I need to do it a couple of times?” he responded.

Pyrrha drew her shield and held it out in front of her with two arms slapping the face of it.

Taking the offer Jaune repeated the process of activating the skill a few more times. After the fifth use, it finally kicked in. A familiar distracting sensation letting him know to check his status.

You have unlocked the **[Heavy Strike]** skill.

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 seconds.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

“Hey, Nora, how much does your Magnhild weigh exactly?” Jaune asked after learning how the skill worked.

“Oh, about 10 pounds, the head isn’t solid all the way through so it’s less heavy than it looks.” She explained with a knowing smile.

“So it worked then?” Pyrrha asked.

“Yeah, it did,” Jaune replied.

“Your ability to pick up skills is quite impressive. You can pick and choose what you need, something we can't do. Not to mention there doesn't appear to be a limit to how many you can learn. We learn through leveling meaning each new skill takes longer and longer. In comparison, you can learn so quickly” said Ren.

“It wouldn’t be as fast if I didn’t have people teaching me these skills, I have you guys to thank for this. Pyrrha unlocked my aura and got me started. Ren, you taught me a bunch of tricks to help train, and Nora showed me this newest one. I couldn’t have done it without you.” Jaune countered.

His comments drew a smile on his teammate’s faces. He had heard that the bond between team members was a strong one in the tales of his childhood. His father had had his own team when he was a student after all. But it wasn’t until now that he really understood it. They had fought together, saved each other’s lives. They have trained together, his teammates had helped him grow immensely. Even the short time they spent together separate from their schooling was enjoyable. Ren’s cooking was legendary. Mealtimes, where he was willing to provide his time, was always looked forward to. Nora’s antics were exhausting, but she never failed to brighten the room. It was hard to get lost in his thoughts and stress with her there cheering everyone up. His partner Pyrrha too was an ever-present aspect of his new life. Of all his teammates, she was by his side the most.

He wanted to do something to give back to his team, to his friends, to show his appreciation. His performance wasn't enough to pay them back. Instead, Jaune took a note out of his book of tricks for dealing with his sisters. A foolproof, show of appreciation that is enjoyable for everyone involved.

“You guys want to have a movie night?

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 6**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 18 (43)**

**Fortitude: 25 (61)**

**Dexterity: 15 (36)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **[Aura Control: Level 3]  
** Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 23%   
All Aura abilities are 30% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 2]**   
Create a force field around your body to ward off harm.   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 12(15) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 3]**   
Your weapons are conduits for aura.   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 13(16) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level 2]**  
Hasten the recovery of injuries with your aura.   
While injured, drain up to 1 Aura/hour to speed recovery by 120(156) %.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 2]**   
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 50(65) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 1]  
** By filling your muscles with aura, they grow and become stronger.   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 11(13) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.5xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 2]**   
With deep breathing and concentration, you can affect certain aspects of Aura   
Aura Recovery Rate +120% while meditating.

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)**   
Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)**  
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 1] (Passive)**   
Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 10%

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 seconds.   
Recharge 3 seconds.


	10. A Heavy Burden II

Jaune yawned for what must have been the 100th time this morning.

His instructor for the day was an energetic, coffee-fuelled green blur. He dashed around the room, discussing a topic with a passion that would be hard to beat. It’s just a shame that the topic was history and that Team JNPR had stayed up all night watching movies.

They had each wanted a different type of film. Pyrrha wanted a romance. Jaune wanted action. Nora wanted a comedy, and Ren for some reason wanted a documentary. As a compromise, they watched all of them. In hindsight, it was a terrible idea.

Jaune was fighting the urge to lay his head down on his desk. His eyelids were heavy, threatening to shut on him if he didn’t remain vigilant. As it were, the palm of his hand which held his chin may as well have been a pillow. Still, he couldn’t afford to miss out on the class.

“The Faunus Rights Revolution, the largest and most influential battle fought this century. It has had ramifications felt around Remnant. Many of you in this class have likely been impacted by the culture shift that resulted from it. But in all of our history, there was one conflict that was even more important. The Class War.” Dr. Oobleck explained.

It was a topic that Jaune was familiar with, even if he had never been to a combat school. It took place several hundred years ago, long before the academies were founded. The so-called royalty determined that only they were worthy of the gifts they were born with. Their children and friends were granted positions of authority and power. All others were forced into submission. Children’s classes were strictly kept locked.

Life continued like this for decades. Until one day a blacksmith's son unlocked his through pure circumstance. He was born with the 'Hero' class. Through his efforts, he saved the kingdom from a great threat. Rallying up others under his banner he overthrew the royalty. He then devised a new system to replace the old one. A system where all children were allowed to pursue and unlock their classes. A system where even if you were born a blacksmith, you could serve in the military or run a school. For people all around Remnant, this meant nobody was held down by the circumstance of their birth.

Within reason.

The system wasn't perfect, a hierarchy still existed, but it was more of a guideline than a law. There was no denying that a knight would always make a better knight than a farmer would. Anybody could learn to work metal. But a blacksmith’s innate talents and skills would always give them the monopoly. Anyone could slay Grimm, but a huntsman almost always held a combat class. It was a meritocracy. Held together under the conflicting ideals of freedom and safety. You were free to do what you wanted, but the world didn't have to accommodate you.

“Now! Which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point of the Class War was?” Dr. Oobleck asked the class.

It was at this moment that something landed down Jaune’s collar, causing him to jerk upright and call out.

“Mr. Arc! Fantastic, thank you for your participation. So what is the answer?” the doctor asked.

Jaune had barely heard the question in his tired and distracted state. As a result, he didn’t have an answer on hand.

“The answer...” he started.

“is that the turning point...”

Jaune looked around the classroom for a hint.

“of the Class War was...”

Behind the professor, he saw Pyrrha waving her arms around as if she was swinging a sword.

“Was that they had really big swords!”

_Damn it._

The classroom erupted with laughter at his expense. His cheeks burned with embarrassment at once again being the fool. Behind him, the loudest source of laughter was Cardin. He seemed to take particular enjoyment in the situation Jaune was in.

“Very funny Mr. Arc.” Dr. Oobleck responded.

Seeing Cardin behind him with his feet on the desk and his chair leaned back he asked, “Cardin! Perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on the subject?”

Cardin crossed his feet, without moving them from the table.

“The turning point of the war was when the nobles decided they were better than they were. They had the advantage, but they didn't take action. With all their skills and levels, they hid away in their castles and let the revolution come to them. In this world stats and skills mean everything, but if you don't use them then you're useless.”

“An... interesting perspective. But not an incorrect one. Indeed the turning point of the way was when the revolutionaries began using skills. Like many today, the nobles believed that the use of skills was a pointless risk. In contrast, the revolutionaries used every advantage they could get. This is what many believe won them the war. Remember students, if you have an advantage, don't sit on it. Use it. ”

“Mr. Arc, since it seems you need it, please see me after class for extra readings. Now! Moving on!“

**/-/**

“Mr. Arc, since this is our first class I will take it easy on you. I do not expect this to be a recurring issue after all. You’ve worked hard to earn your place in this school and we only accept the best of the best. I simply want to make sure you do not waste your opportunity. Regardless of your interest in the subject, history is important. Those who can’t learn from it… are destined to repeat it. Pages 51 to 91, I want an essay on my desk by next class, pick a topic that means something to you. Now. Run along!” The professor lectured.

No sooner than he had finished giving Jaune his punishment, he dashed out the door. Jaune was left to pack up by himself.

Or so he thought. When the professor had left, Pyrrha had stuck her head in the doorway.

“Are you… ready to go?” she asked.

“Yes.” He replied.

“That bad huh?”

“No. Not really, he didn’t get on my back that much…”

“Then…?”

“I’d rather not talk about it. It’s… nothing.” He lied.

In truth, the comment about having worked hard to earn his place was beginning to get to him. It was being used as words of encouragement over and over by the staff and students here. For Jaune, it was just a reminder of the fact he had to lie his way in.

“If you say so. Ren and Nora have taken the afternoon off again. They keep saying they’re not ‘together-together’. But they sure do spend a lot of time together going on private outings to the city.” Pyrrha joked.

Jaune laughed, “I guess it’s just the two of us then…”

“I guess it is.”

It was quiet for a moment, neither seemed willing to be the first to speak up. In the end, Jaune did.

“So… I was thinking…”

“Yes?” Pyrrha inquired.

“We have team training tomorrow. We could use our time this afternoon to come up with some cool combos or something?”

Pyrrha smiled.

“That sounds grand.”

**/-/**

The afternoon of brainstorming eventually turned into an afternoon of training. Pyrrha hadn’t had many ideas of her own. She preferred to keep her cards close to her chest and not needlessly reveal her Semblance. This meant that all his genius ideas went to waste. No human railguns, no transforming into giant robots. Even his idea of flinging people around by their armor was discarded. They had, however, agreed that her potential as a support would be a great team asset that hadn’t been considered. Like when she stopped Nora’s hammer from caving in his skull, Pyrrha could pull her teammates out of harm's way.

Whatever the professor had ready for them today, it would be that little bit easier with Pyrrha as a safety net.

Today’s class was to be held at the Beacon Cliffside. So after gathering their things, Team JNPR made their way over.

Team JNPR was the first to arrive. They were greeted by not only Doctor Oobleck but also professor Goodwitch. The doctor took Team JNPR aside and asked them a few questions regarding their status. He explained that teams were having their task balanced to their strengths. This way each team would in theory face the same challenge.

Each team was subjected to the same treatment, and once all 3 teams had arrived, an explanation was given.

“Team building. Most of the time this involves problem-solving. Using your team member's talents to overcome a challenge. Sometimes it just means putting you through hell… as a team. Today is the latter.” Doctor Oobleck happily explained.

“Your team’s combined strength has been measured. At the bottom of this cliff, your team will have an object they are asked to bring back to the top of the cliff. That is all. Professor Goodwitch is on hand in case of a team falling. So you do not need to worry about dying a gruesome death. Climb down, grab the object, climb back up. You are free to leave when you are finished. Good luck!”

He then took a seat on a fold-out chair nearby.

The task seemed simple enough. Collectively the groups had no issue making their way down the Cliffside. What they saw at the bottom was not what they had hoped for.

Each team had its very own boulder. Team names carved in the side showed which team had which rock. The ropes attached were to be the method of transport. Of all the teams, Team JNPR's boulder was the largest.

“Do they seriously expect us to pull these things back up? It took like 20 minutes to descend, it’ll take hours to go up again.” Jaune loudly complained.

“They don’t know about our skills though. They only asked about our statuses, so surely this won’t be impossible?” said Ren.

“That’s true! You boys both have that booster skill you practiced, so with you guys doing that this should be a cinch.” Pyrrha exclaimed.

Jaune considered the fact that his level of skill wasn’t that high. Not with aura control, or muscle augmentation. He had managed to use it during training, but occasionally he would overload his muscles. He decided against telling the group. They had a long haul ahead of them and getting their spirits down now wouldn’t help.

Jaune grabbed one of the ropes and activated his skill at the lowest amount he could. Giving it an experimental tug he noted that the rock barely moved at all under his efforts alone.

“We better get going then.” He suggested.

The others all grabbed their ropes, tying them around their waists. Together they began to drag this boulder toward the towering wall of stone before them.

Team RWBY had already begun to make headway up the wall. Their team had the smallest boulder of the three. Their team was less built for strength than the other two. By the looks, Team RWBY had had the same idea, the use of skills would make the journey easier. It wouldn’t last forever, but Weiss used ice dust to create small footholds for them to use.

Team CRDL had taken an interesting approach. They had split their boulder into 4 roughly equal-sized rocks and they carried one each. It was fair, in a way.

Not wanting to fall behind, Team JNPR began the climb.

The first 20 minutes weren’t too bad. The trick they found was to move in time. If they all moved at once, then the weight was distributed evenly between them. If someone jumped the gun, they would effectively be trying to lift it by themselves. At first, their shoulder and back muscles were the problems. The biggest muscles taking the heaviest burden. Then it was their legs, the muscles that they leaned on next to ease the burden on their upper body. Finally, it was the little things. The body parts that wanted to give out rather than just getting tired. Fingers locked up, the rope bit into their waists. They had made good ground too, nearly a quarter of the way up the cliff in the same time it took them to descend it.

Now that fatigue was setting in, however, it would be much harder. Team RWBY had stopped with the dust footholds. Instead, they were creating routine platforms. Areas where they could stop and rest.

Team CRDL had seen success in their plan too. The members of the team who had less difficulty with their load were able to get ahead of their teammates and rest. Cardin was consistently ahead of his 3 more lean team members. He would shout down at them, pushing them to work harder. It was leading by example. Not quite teamwork, but it worked for them.

Jaune had no clues on how they could get chances to take a break like Team RWBY. He had suggested hammering their weapons under the boulder. Creating a platform out of their load itself that they could sit on. That had been shot down. Too much risk of the platform failing and everybody being yanked off the wall. It was asking for trouble.

So instead they continued climbing. The idea is that the faster they went, the less risk of fatigue winning. Jaune felt that his performance was holding back the team. He wanted to try and push his limits to lessen the burden on his teammates.

So far, he had been maintaining the minimum level of aura he could get away with. The less he used, the less risk of something going wrong. As it was he had occasionally slipped up and lost concentration. Putting more in than he needed to. At higher concentrations of aura, those mistakes could be dangerous. If he focused more, he believed he could stop making as many mistakes. Not to mention it would distract him from the ache in his fingertips.

So, when his team would move to the count, Jaune pushed that little bit of extra aura into the action. Split-second bursts of strength exactly when they moved. By minimizing the amount of time the boost was active, he could stretch his aura out for longer. In total, he only added a few dozen pounds of lifting power to the several hundred pounds of rock. But after carrying it for so long, anything that made it even a little bit easier was a welcome change.

It was after the halfway point that things took a turn for the worse. Ren had to stop using his aura. Even with greater control, his reserves just weren’t as large as Jaune’s. If he continued using the skill, he would risk aura exhaustion. With Ren now less able to carry the weight, the others all had a little more work to do.

They weren’t the only ones struggling though. Team RWBY had run out of dust. They hadn’t placed a platform in a while and they were beginning to slow down.

Team CRDL was still making steady progress. Cardin had stopped barking orders to his team below him. The strain of the task forcing him to focus on himself. He only shouted back when he heard complaints, and he only ever told them to 'shut up and keep moving'.

The only person not struggling was Pyrrha. Compared to the rest of the team, her breathing was easy and she wasn’t drenched in sweat like the others.

“Pyrrha, do you think it would be possible to use your semblance on the rest of us?” Jaune asked.

“Not in a way that would be useful. I can only ‘control’ one piece of metal at a time. Anything else becomes mass attraction or repulsion.” She replied.

“What if I put something metal on the rock itself?”

“That… might work.”

Jaune looked over his team. Ren likely had the lowest strength on the team now that he couldn’t use any aura techniques.

“Ren, can you put my shield underneath the ropes at the bottom?” Jaune requested.

He nodded.

“I can, but you three will have to cover for me. I’ll need to hold onto the rock itself, you’ll be lifting me and the rock by yourselves until I finish.”

“Do it.” Jaune commanded, “I’ll cover the extra weight by using more aura to increase my strength.”

Jaune raised his output just shy of the limit, increasing his strength to 90. Close to double what he was maintaining before. He still fell short of Pyrrha’s extreme power, but it would do for now.

Ren steadily made his way across to Jaune, grabbing Crocea Mors and tucking it into his pants. He then scaled down the rock face. When he was sure his team was ready, he grabbed onto the ropes of the boulder and pulled himself underneath. Ren’s lack of armor would be coming in handy, as he was currently supporting his entire weight on a few fingers.

Ren tugged on the ropes until he could get enough space to drive the sheathe in. For good measure, he transformed it into a shield, creating a larger surface for Pyrrha to control.

He climbed back up on top of the boulder, ready to grab onto the wall again. Suddenly the other teams let out a combination of groans, grunts, and shouts.

A strong wind had blown across the cliff face threatening to knock anyone with poor grip off the wall.

“Ren grab onto something, now!” Jaune yelled out, knowing that his friend hadn’t yet found purchase on the rocks.

Ren instinctively grabbed onto the ropes nearby.

As the wind struck, their boulder slightly swayed to their left. Jaune's rope threatened to yank him off the wall. The few inches of movement being enough to nearly pull his hands from their position.

Jaune had in a panic flooded his arms with aura. An effort to grab on with all of his strength and stop himself from falling. A successful attempt, but not without cost. The shooting pain in his forearms and the notification in his mind told him something had gone wrong.

Ren wasted no time and climbed back up immediately after the wind had passed. Pyrrha began to lift the weight with her Semblance. The boulder felt as if it weighed half as much in an instant.

“Let’s keep going then. You won’t be able to keep that up forever, right?” Jaune asked.

“No, I won’t. Maybe half an hour of this at best. I think if we hurried we could reach the top.” Pyrrha replied.

So hurry they did. It wasn’t necessarily a sprint, they were too tired for that, but they were making ground on the other teams. It didn’t take long before they had passed the other teams and entered the home stretch. The increased pace sent waves of pain through Jaune’s arm. His right hand had locked up into a basic hook shape, it was enough to support himself on, but it was less than ideal. With his fingers unable to move properly, the rocks dug into his fingertips. Normally his aura would protect him, but by this point, he had run out. He had used it all in the struggles leading up to this point. The skin on his fingers had been scratched and rubbed away until they bled.

“Jaune, what’s wrong with your hand?” Pyrrha asked.

_Of course, she had to notice._

“It’s fine don’t worry about it.” He responded.

They continued to climb, but it was clear that he had their attention at this point.

_Damn it._

“I injured my hand when that wind hit us. I haven’t been able to grab the rocks properly and I’m out of aura. Let’s just finish this and we can worry about it then.” He requested.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha to make sure the point got across. She frowned and looked toward the top of the cliff.

“Fine. Let’s finish this.” She said, before taking off.

Jaune wasn’t sure what she was planning, but it didn’t take long for him to realize. He had no idea how, but Pyrrha was hauling the boulder up by herself.

Ren and Nora quickly got to work and sped up to try and keep up with Pyrrha and help her out where they could. Jaune was unable to move as quickly as the others with his hand the way it was. While he kept up, he wasn’t able to take any of his share of the weight.

“How are you doing this?” Ren asked.

“Adrenaline Burst, it’s a skill like your muscle augmentation. It increases all of my physical stats for a short time but leaves me exhausted afterward. I’m going to get us up this cliff and then Jaune can get his hand looked at.” Pyrrha replied.

“I didn’t need you to cover for me like this. I would have been fine.” Jaune stubbornly responded.

“I was saving my energy for the final stretch anyway,” Pyrrha explained.

“That’s not the point!” Jaune shouted.

Pyrrha continued to climb, waiting in silence for Jaune to explain his outburst.

“If you keep taking over for me, how am I supposed to prove that I belong here. Everybody had to save me in the initiation, and now the first challenge we face I’m being left behind again.”

Nora was the first to react, “Jaune, you don’t need to prove yourself. You-”

“I earned my place here like everyone else. That’s what you were about to say right?” Jaune asked.

“I keep hearing that said everywhere I go in this school.”

Jaune paused, before speaking in a hushed voice, “Well I didn’t. I didn’t go to combat school. I didn’t pass any tests. I didn’t earn my spot at this academy. I lied. I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I lied.”

Pyrrha continued to climb. Jaune could see that she wanted to stop. But he knew that her sense of compassion was telling her to get him to the top of this cliff.

“But… Why?” Pyrrha asked hesitantly.

“Because this is what I’ve always wanted to be! My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one too. I was just never good enough.”

“I can’t keep letting you all help me! Every single achievement I’ve had has been the result of someone else’s hard work. I can’t keep letting myself be the damsel in distress. I want to be the hero! I was given a chance here after so long, I refuse to waste it riding on everyone else’s coattails. I’m tired of being the same classless idiot, kept safe while his friends and family fight for their lives. Don’t you understand? If I can’t do this on my own… Then what good am I?”

Forcing his hand to move he climbed faster, catching up with the others. He ignored the pain in his hand and the second notification that accompanied it.

“I appreciate your concern. But I need to do this my way, even if it hurts me. If I can’t fight beside you as an equal, then I don’t deserve your friendship.”

“Jaune-” Nora started.

“Nora.” Ren interrupted, “Sometimes a man has to act, even if it brings him misfortune. If we don’t let him do this, we will only push him away.”

Jaune looked at Ren. He could see a hint of sadness in his eyes which usually looked so calm. Jaune gave him a nod in appreciation.

Pyrrha slowed her ascent enough for Jaune to feel the weight pull on him once more.

“If that is what you think is best,” Pyrrha replied.

In silence, Team JNPR completed their climb and pulled the boulder over the edge.

Whatever it is that the teachers had to say in response to their team finish went unheard. Jaune collected his shield and made his way off to the dorm. Alone.

**/-/**

Jaune sat in the shower back in their dorm room. His hand had finally loosed up and unlocked itself from the position it was stuck in. Enjoying the calming heat of the shower as it ran over his sore muscles he observed the injury he had sustained.

**You are suffering from Forearm Muscle Tear (Mild)**

**Forearm Muscle Tear (Mild) has become Forearm Muscle Tear (Severe)**

**Forearm Muscle Tear (Severe)**   
Grip strength decreased by 70%

He wouldn’t be able to wield his sword properly until this was recovered. Even something as simple as squeezing the shampoo bottle was painful at the moment.

His team had returned to their room and were sitting right outside the bathroom. He would have to face them again no matter what. But he took extra time drying his hair because he wanted to avoid it.

He didn’t believe that his team would throw him under the bus and rat him out, he trusted them enough for that. But his outburst had been problematic regardless. They would no doubt ask questions he didn’t want to answer. Worse still would be the looks they would no doubt give him.

Jaune knew he couldn't hide in the bathroom forever. So he pulled on his shirt and opened the door, ready for the incoming onslaught. But it never came. Any discussion that was being held became silent with his presence. They simply looked at him and waited.

_I need to get out of here. I’m not dealing with this right now._

“I’m going to go train. I’ll see you tonight.” Said Jaune.

Nora opened her mouth, but Ren’s hand on her shoulder kept her quiet. Pyrrha looked down at her hands in her lap.

Before they had a chance to come up with something to say, Jaune left.

**/-/**

He hadn’t been able to train with his sword, a lot of upper body muscle training was off the cards as well. Since he had been injured due to his lack of aura control, he spent the afternoon focusing on that. In particular, he had focused his attention on his aura healing. It was supposed to be an automatic ability, but his lack of experience meant he needed to focus on it to get it working.

Checking his scroll he realized it was beginning to get dark, so he started to get up and return to his room. For a day's work, it was good progress. Entirely focused on his aura healing and meditation, he gained a total of 3 levels between them.

“Oh, Jaune…”

Jaune turned in the direction of the voice that called out to him.

“Cardin!?” Jaune responded.

“You know, I couldn’t help but overhear your little team spat earlier today.” Said Cardin.

_He heard? But we were so far ahead, and the wind…_

“I don’t know what you’re-”

“So, you snuck into Beacon, huh?” Cardin interrupted. “I’ve got to say, I never expected you to be such a rebel.”

Cardin began to walk toward Jaune who stood and waited, knowing he had been caught.

“Since you’re so weak and all. Most people like you know their place.”

Jaune was beginning to panic.

“Please! Cardin, please. Don’t tell anyone!” Jaune pleaded.

“Jaune! Come on! I’d never rat out a friend like that! If they kicked you out, who would be my training buddy tomorrow?” Cardin responded.

“Training buddy?” Jaune weakly questioned.

“Of course! Tomorrow is warrior training. We get the whole day to ourselves with a teacher to provide guidance. You, being the helpful and considerate friend that you are, offered to pair up with me, a fellow team leader. You knew that I want to work on practicing my weapon skills against a live target.”

“Why would-”

“You knew that friendship means being there when your friends need you after all, don’t you Jaune. I’m here for you, after all, keeping your little secret. So it’s very commendable that you were so willing to pay back the favor and help me train. It’s the kind of relationship I can see working for us. For a very… Long time.”

“So I’ll see you tomorrow in class, buddy. I’m really looking forward to it.” Cardin finished.

Jaune could do nothing but watch as he walked away.

**/-/**

“What do you mean you aren’t training with us?” Nora asked.

“Cardin agreed to help me out since we are both team leaders.” Jaune lied.

“Besides, I’ll be just over there, I’m not going far. So it’s fine.”

Jaune knew he couldn’t convince anybody when he didn’t believe it himself. So as soon as he finished gesturing to where Cardin and his team were, he waved goodbye to his own and left.

As he approached Cardin greeted him.

“Jauney-Boy, glad you could make it. Are you ready for your special training?” he asked.

“Sure. Whatever. I’ll play along, no clue what you get out of this though.” Jaune replied.

“I told you didn’t I?” Cardin said with a smile, “I need a target dummy. Put up your shield already.”

Jaune lifted his shield and drew his sword. There would be no dodging, no backstepping from these blows. He wanted a punching bag, not a sparring partner.

“I’ve got so many tricks to teach you, buddy. We are going to learn so much together. Like this one! Sunder!”

As Cardin shouted the final word, his mace struck the earth. Jaune had been ready for an attack of some sort, but he hadn’t expected the shockwaves that rocked his body. Lacking a tangible component, Jaune was unable to block it with his shield and instead had to endure it.

“Hmmm, looks like it doesn’t do much. How about this one? Sweep!”

Cardin’s strike went low, aiming below his knee. His shield wouldn’t be able to reach easily so he instead tried to parry the strike with his sword. It was the first time he had tried to defend with his blade. His attempt looked more like an attack aimed at his opponent's weapon. An interception, rather than a redirection or block. Still, it had the effect of slowing down the incoming strike.

Judging by the name, it was supposed to knock him prone or trip the opponent. Jaune's defense had thwarted that, but the strike still caved in his stance.

“Now the follow-up. Leap Slam!”

Cardin leaped into the air and brought his mace down onto Jaune’s position. The attack was blocked though not without forcing him back several paces.

Cardin seemed content with his string of skills and gestured to his team, fishing for a laugh at his expense. With the time granted to him, he checked his scroll.

_Down to 60% aura already…_

Looking back toward his ‘opponent’ Jaune saw him smirking and staring him down.

“Don’t worry bud, we aren’t going to kill you. If your aura drops too low just let us know and you can have a break.”

_I really hate that mocking tone of his…_

“I’m at 60% right now,” Jaune responded.

“So soon? We’ll have to do something about that. It would be bad if we broke our new toy before we got a chance to enjoy it don’t you think boys?” Cardin asked.

His team members behind him laughed exactly when prompted to.

“When do we get a turn, Cardin?” Sky asked.

“Don’t worry, this class lasts all day. You’ll all get a chance to play.” Cardin responded.

He turned back to Jaune.

“Better learn quick Jauney-Boy.”

Cardin didn’t use any skills after that. Not that his ordinary strikes hurt that much less. He peppered Jaune’s shield with blow after blow, knowing that there was no return strike coming. Cardin was careful not to cause any real injury, nothing that could get him in trouble. Their scrolls were set to sound an alarm when their owner drops to critical aura levels. When this happened Cardin got in one last shot, then told him to go recover.

Knowing that it was in his best interest to recover his aura, Jaune focused on meditation. They only gave him half an hour before they called him back up. It was just enough to recover 10% of his aura, it wasn’t going to last.

Sky went next with Cardin’s command. His halberd slammed into Jaune’s shield almost as hard as Cardin’s strikes had. He didn’t use any skills and instead opted for large telegraphed swings at full power. It allowed Jaune to try and calculate the optimal guard to use. The more effective guarding saved him from a lot of the damage he could have taken. But after a few swings, his aura was already critical.

“This isn’t working. We can’t play with such a useless toy.” Cardin called out.

“Jaune. If you can’t last at least a minute each time we play with you... I’m going to make sure every teacher in this school finds out about our little secret. You’ve got half an hour, then you’re up again.”

_Shit. What the hell am I supposed to do now? I can’t keep up my aura shield that long…_

_Wait, that’s it!_

Jaune made use of his 30 minutes, drawing as much aura as he could from within. When his time was up, they had Dove go next. The boy's weapon was smaller than Cardin and Sky’s, though not as small as Russel’s dual daggers. It was probably his best chance to make this work though.

Cardin yelled for his team member to get to it, causing the boy to rush in. Jaune gritted his teeth and blocked the next strike, without his aura active.

It was a much more ‘intimate’ experience. The forces weren’t muted and absorbed by his aura. Instead, they were transferred through the steel of his shield and directly into his arm. The shortsword that struck him might be small but swung at those speeds it still hurt. Feeling the force as it hit him allowed Jaune to instinctively shy away from it. Turning his blocks into slightly more efficient deflections. His sense of self-preservation and fear becoming a great learning tool.

Still, he had to last at least a minute like this and with each swing he redirected, he could feel a bruise developing. This strategy would work against Dove and Russel. Against the other two, however, he would be left with breaks instead of bruises.

When given the opportunity Jaune mixed in his sword. Parrying as many strikes with his dominant arm as he could to try and ease the burden placed onto his shield arm. When he felt that a minute had passed, he began using his aura again. It didn’t take long for his aura to drain and the alarm to go off, signaling the end of that round.

As much as Jaune hated the position he was in, the beatings they were giving him were working as decent training. Even if he would never admit it to Cardin. He went through several rounds with each of the members of Team CRDL. By the end of the dozen rounds, all his aggressors had gotten was a few hours of entertainment. but Jaune had gained a level in his shield skill. It wasn’t much, and it hadn’t saved him from the pain in his arm, but it was progress.

He had been forced to give out his scroll number so that they could ‘contact him when they needed him’. He was told to fix himself up so that he would be ready for anything that they wanted. Not that he didn't plan to try and get rid of the ache in his arm anyway. First, though he would have to get his aura above critical levels.

“Oho! I didn’t know you struggled with aura skills, my boy!”

The professor had approached while he was concentrating. He had seen Jaune focusing on his recovery. This led him to the correct assumption that his recovery was not yet automatic.

“Always have.” Jaune lied, “You got any tips to help me out?”

“I’ve always been more of a muscle and steel kind of fighter myself." He said, patting his own bicep.

"It’s been many years since I focused on those skills, though I did have the occasional student seeking my advice. Everybody is different mind you, so take what I say with a grain of salt. It's hard to perfectly advise someone on how to train the use of their soul after all. What I always say is that you should focus less on the skill as a whole, and more on what you want to improve in it. We huntsman always tend to try and brute force our way through, but a little thinking can go a long way. If you're struggling to automate your recovery, focus on that. If you focus on using the skill, you'll always need to focus on the skill. You don’t get better at throwing an axe by just swinging it all day after all hahaa!” The professor advised.

_Makes sense. If I keep training this way, I’ll increase the rate of recovery, but I’ll never get it automatic. The same thing goes for every skill like this I suppose._

“Thanks, professor, I’ll give that a shot,” Jaune replied.

As the professor took his leave, searching for another student to assist, Jaune gave it a shot. He needed to meditate to recover his aura, and he needed to use his aura recovery to heal his wounds. So he tried doing both at once.

Jaune would start by focusing the aura on the location of his injuries. Then just like when he first started meditating, he focused his mind elsewhere. He had learned with Ren that the concept of ‘think nothing’ wasn’t exactly correct. Some people try to empty their minds as a way to focus their thoughts. But it wasn’t the empty-headedness that made it count, it was the focus.

Jaune's particular method had been to list his goals, both immediate and long term. Creating and reciting this mental list helped focus his mind, and it kept him motivated.

Eventually, and quite often, Jaune would realize he had failed to maintain his healing. He would have to get his aura under control again before returning to his meditation. Doing both things at once wasn’t easy. It took a few consecutive hours of practice to get to a stage where he could last a few minutes at a time. There were no new levels, but there were still tangible signs of progress.

“Jaune?” Pyrrha’s voice asked from nearby.

Cracking open his eyes, he saw that his team was standing nearby waiting for him.

“Yes?” he asked.

“I asked if you were coming back to the dorm with us,” Pyrrha repeated.

“Oh, uh, sure.” He replied.

_I can keep practicing back at the dorm anyway._

“Let’s go then! I can tell you about this weird dream I had! You were in it, and so was Pyrrha, and so was-” Nora chattered away.

Pyrrha's behavior distracted him from Nora's story. As soon as he had answered her, she had turned and walked away. It seemed she didn't want to talk to him any more than she had to.

_Not that I blame her._

_If it wasn’t for Nora, it would have been a very quiet walk back no doubt._

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 6**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 18 (43)**

**Fortitude: 25 (61)**

**Dexterity: 15 (36)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **[Aura Control: Level 3]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 23%   
All Aura abilities are 30% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 2]**   
Create a force field around your body to ward off harm.   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 12(15) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 3]**   
Your weapons are conduits for aura.   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 13(16) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level 4]**  
Hasten the recovery of injuries with your aura.   
While injured, drain up to 1 Aura/hour to speed recovery by 140(182) %.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 2]**   
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 50(65) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 1]**  
By filling your muscles with aura, they grow and become stronger.   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 11(13) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.5xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 3]**   
With deep breathing and concentration, you can affect certain aspects of Aura   
Aura Recovery Rate +130% while meditating.

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)**   
Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 2] (Passive)**  
Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 20%

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 seconds.   
Recharge 3 seconds.


	11. A Heavy Burden II

“Up next, Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose!”

Four days had passed since Jaune had been roped into serving as Cardin’s lackey. Four days of doing double the assignments. Four days of dodging his teammates' questions. Four days of ‘training accidents’.

Jaune had returned to his dorm at the end of every day with a host of new injuries. Team CRDL had quickly gotten bored of simply beating on him. Each day was a different flavor of abuse. He was forced to fight without his shield, being allowed to fight back if he wanted. Then they took to him with fists, earning him a bruised eye that had drawn more attention than he had wanted.

He was fortunate that they found his struggles entertaining. If they hadn’t he probably wouldn’t have lasted as long as he did. Nor would he have learned as many tricks as he had.

“Mr. Arc, is there a reason you are unprepared for combat today?” the professor asked.

Looking at what she meant, he saw her attention directed to the aura display. It showed his aura being barely above 60%, while his opponent Ruby’s was full.

Jaune spared a glance to the crowd where Cardin sat, watching him with his regular smug smirk. He gave his usual answer in response.

“Just a training accident, I’m still good to go!”

“Are you sure?” Ruby asked, her concern for her friend visible on her face.

He nodded.

“I’m sure, don’t take it easy on me or you’ll regret it, okay?” Jaune replied.

Ruby nodded in response, readying her weapon. She was still visibly worried about her first friend. No doubt she knew about his recent behavior due to her team’s closeness with team JNPR.

“Very well then. You can begin when you’re ready.” Ms. Goodwitch instructed.

_Time to see what I’ve learned._

Jaune held his shield at the ready, in front of his body. His sword however was kept low with the point facing the ground.

It wasn’t his regular stance. It defied certain rules he had been taught by his father and left his right side almost completely open. But it was a position that had nearly resulted in his first win in his time here at Beacon.

Cardin and his grunts had some very unique views on how the world worked. They believed that a lion should use all its strength to hunt a rabbit. They believed that every advantage should be used to its fullest. Most importantly though, they believed that results mattered above all else. The results justified the method, no matter how devious, or how cruel.

In his first fight, Jaune had lost to Cardin due to a ‘gambit’ as the professor had put it. This was his.

As Jaune approached, he made sure to emphasize his shield. Keeping it in the perfect position at all times. Against a more skilled opponent, they would no doubt notice the opening in his guard.

As soon as he entered Ruby’s reach, she attacked, aiming for that opening.

As soon as she had committed to the strike, Jaune moved. He stepped into the blow, away from the lethal bladed edge, and took the strike on his body. Ruby packed a punch but with all the weight behind him, his aura handled it just fine.

As he entered her guard he swung his weapon at her face.

But it was a distraction.

As soon as the blade was on route for Ruby, he released the handle, allowing his weapon to fly toward her head. With his newly freed hand, he grabbed onto the shaft of Crescent Rose. He pulled with all his aura enhanced strength, attempting to disarm her. With his offhand, he swung his shield covered fist at Ruby.

With her weapon locked up and her strength score not being as high as his own she was left with two choices. Take the direct hit, or release her weapon.

Earlier in the week, a fight with Sky and his halberd Feather’s Edge had replicated this same scenario. Sky had been confident enough to take on Jaune face to face without his weapon. He was rewarded when he managed to overpower Jaune and reclaim his weapon. Ruby, however, refused to part with her weapon and she took the blow head-on.

It wasn’t what he had wanted her to do. His sisters had helped train a lot of his misplaced concern for the fairer sex out of him. But he still didn’t like to hit women more than necessary in training or combat. He had wanted to disarm Ruby and throw her weapon out of bounds, forcing her to surrender.

Now though, it was his turn to make a choice. She was fast but lacked the strength to get away from him with her weapon in hand. Her aura was strong enough to handle his blows too. But this fight wouldn’t end with just a few strikes. Without his sword, he would have to strike her over and over, and even aura wouldn’t stop that from hurting.

Maintaining his grip on her weapon, he glanced into the crowd. Team RWBY were all on their feet shouting encouragement for their leader. The two sisters were the two people he had gotten to know first in this town. Just next to them however was his team. They were watching him, just as closely. He could vaguely hear the shouting of Nora over his heart beating in his ears.

_Earn my place. Win at all costs._

So Jaune hardened his resolve, and he struck again and again. Ruby hadn’t once through the onslaught looked as though she was going to recover. It was excellent acting on her part.

Jaune pulled back for yet another strike. Another attempt at trying to end the match by dislodging her grip. But he found it was his hand which lost its purchase on the weapon. Ruby had managed to activate the mecha-shift of her weapon. The scythe was transformed into a small container, in her hands only.

Using her Semblance, she dashed away from Jaune who scrambled for his blade. But it was too late.

Any chance of her taking it easy on him as she had was lost. She had distance between them and the ranged advantage of her high powered sniper rifle.

“I surrender!” he shouted.

_No point wasting my aura on a lost battle. I’ll need it again soon._

“Ms. Rose wins!” professor Goodwitch declared, signaling the end of the match.

“Mr. Arc, that was a better attempt than your last. Using your advantage in strength and size to disable your opponent’s weapon. You would do well to learn more effective techniques for disarming your opponent. With them, you might have won. Ms. Rose, your quick thinking got you out of that situation. It would be in your best interest to learn some hand-to-hand combat. You can't always rely on having your weapon. And don’t think I didn’t notice you taking it easy on your opponent. In real combat, Mr. Arc will need to learn how to cover distance.”

Ruby nodded while staring at Jaune. When he caught her gaze, she turned and ran back to her team.

_I wonder what that was about._

Making his way back up to the viewing area, he walked past his team. It had been a while since he had gotten to spend any time with them. Team CRDL expected him to sit with them so they could have him on hand for whatever they needed.

“You almost had her!” Nora called out to him.

Turning to face his team he saw Nora and Ren smiling approvingly. Unfortunately, his partner hadn’t done the same. She continued looking forward, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Y-yeah, thanks. I’ve got to go.” Jaune replied.

As he walked on he heard Pyrrha sigh and begin to collect her equipment.

“Final match for the day. Pyrrha Nikos vs. Cardin Winchester!” the professor declared.

Jaune took his seat with team CRDL, making sure to stay out of Cardin’s road as he approached the arena.

He had no intention of watching this match. Cardin was stronger than he was, no doubt about it. But Pyrrha was on a level of her own. It would be more logical to try and recover his aura and heal any lingering injuries he had picked up.

Interestingly enough, the match lasted much longer than he had expected. He knew Pyrrha had the power to end the fight decisively in a few seconds if she wanted. Despite this, the fight had lasted well over 5 minutes.

It couldn’t have been a close match though. Cardin came back afterward spewing curses and insults towards his partner.

“Stupid bitch thinks she’s so smart. I’ll show her.”

“Now, don’t forget everyone! Tomorrow your history class has been replaced by a class trip to the Forever Fall Forest. Be there on time or there will be consequences. You are dismissed.” Professor Goodwitch instructed.

“Perfect. Jaune, you’re going to go and get me a crate of Rapier Wasps. Have them ready for me tomorrow morning. As a... ‘special reward’ you don’t have to train with us today.” Cardin ordered.

“Right...” Jaune responded.

With the class finished, the teams went their separate ways. Team CRDL left Jaune to do their own thing. Pyrrha too was heading out, Ren and Nora spared Jaune a look and a wave before following her.

The only person who didn’t leave was the leader of Team RWBY.

“I’ll be fine, just go already would you?” she requested of her team, ushering them out the doors.

Jaune looked around the empty arena to see what it is that she could be sticking around for. The professor had already left and he was the only student still here.

_Oh..._

“Look, I’m sorry Ruby, I just really wanted-” Jaune pre-emptively started.

“Shush!” Ruby interrupted.

“But I just wanted to say-” Jaune tried.

“Nope.” Ruby interrupted, popping the p. “You’re going to listen to what I have to say, then if you still have something to say, I’ll consider listening. Got it?”

He nodded and Ruby sat down next to him.

“Since I’ve been here you’ve helped me a lot. Did you know that?” She asked.

She didn’t wait for a response and continued.

“Hanging out with you gave me the confidence to try and talk to people here. You helped me get my act together with my team on our first mission. You never treat me like a kid either. Just then, you fought as hard as you could, I know you did. Compared to a lot of other student’s you’re way weaker.”

_Ow._

He slumped a little in his seat.

“You might even be the weakest student in Beacon.”

_Seriously ow._

“Like, maybe ever.”

He looked at her and frowned.

“But! Despite that, you’ve still helped me a lot, and you’re improving really fast. You really did nearly beat me you know. So I wanted to pay you back, and help you.”

Ruby paused, her face scrunched up in concentration.

“We know that something is going on between your team. We’ve been eating meals together lately. While you’ve been hanging out with Cardin... You know he’s not a nice guy right?” she asked.

Jaune thought back to everything he had been through and everything he had seen. He was obliged to agree. Even if he wasn’t being blackmailed like this, he had seen the way Cardin treated people he deemed less than. That Faunus girl copped a lot of abuse from him, and his partner had received a verbal lashing behind her back.

Still, given the situation all he could do was nod.

“Then why are you hanging out with him?”

“I... I messed up. I did something I shouldn’t have and now Cardin’s got me on a leash and Pyrrha barely even looks at me. I didn’t... don’t want it to be this way, but I don’t know how to fix it. I’m starting to think that coming to this school was a bad idea. I’m a failure.” Jaune replied.

“You’re a leader now Jaune. You don’t get to be a failure.”

“But... what if I’m a failure at being a leader?”

“Mmm... nope. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a failure all your life-”

_Come on..._

“because you can’t be one now. Do you know why?” she asked.

“Uhh, because...”

“Because it’s not just about you anymore. You’ve got a team now, Jaune. We both do. And if we fail, then we’ll just be bringing them down with us. We have to put our teammates first... and ourselves second. Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune. And I think that can be you.”

Ruby got up and began to make her way out of the arena, but not without one final word.

“You should put your foot down. We both saw what you could do.”

As Jaune watched her leave, he couldn’t help but remember that those were the same words he had said to her.

_I need to do something about this._

**/-/**

Jaune hovered in front of his dorm room, holding his freshly acquired package. He knew what he wanted to say, but he had yet to work up the resolve for it. He had just opened the door a crack when he heard a discussion from inside.

“How come Jaune gets home so late?” he heard Nora ask.

“He has become rather scarce ever since he’s been fraternizing with Cardin,” Ren replied.

“That’s weird. Doesn’t he know we have a field trip tomorrow? We need our rest.” Said Nora.

Pyrrha spoke with frustration plain to hear, “I’m sure our leader knows exactly what he is doing.”

Jaune pushed open the door and stepped inside.

“I don’t, actually.” He said.

The trio quickly looked at him, realizing they had been caught talking about him.

“I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“What do you mean?” Nora asked.

Jaune went in and sat down on his bed.

“I haven’t been... fraternizing with him, or anyone in team CRDL. They’re not my friends, and they’re not going to be.” He explained.

“Then why have you been spending so much time with them? Are you avoiding us?” Ren asked.

“At first I was, right after our team exercise. But if I wanted to avoid you guys I would’ve hung out with team RWBY, not with them. They... Cardin heard what I said on the cliff.”

Pyrrha quickly looked at him but looked back down at the floor away from him shortly after.

“If I don’t do what Cardin says, I’ll lose my place here. I won’t ever have a chance to deserve to be your leader if I’m kicked out.”

Pyrrha stood up in a hurry and marched over to where Jaune sat.

“Deserve this. Earn that. Don’t you think we are getting sick of hearing that? Who cares about your stupid transcripts, you kept me safe during initiation didn’t you?” Pyrrha shouted.

“But you wouldn’t have needed that if you weren’t looking after-” Jaune responded.

Nora interrupted, “You saved that girl's life too. If you hadn’t found her she wouldn’t have made it. Her team might have dropped out afterward, but she can try again. She’s alive because of you.”

“Well...”

“Jaune.” Ren cut in, “We were happy you were our leader. Even if you’re weaker than everyone here.”

_What’s with everyone just saying that to my face today._

“Why do you feel you have to prove anything to us? We wouldn’t want anyone else.” Ren added.

“Because... I want... It’s not you who I want to prove anything to. It’s me. I want to prove to myself I deserve to be here, leading you guys. You’re all so strong, I don’t know if I’ll ever be good enough. That’s why I got so mad when you all tried to stop me from doing my fair share. If I can’t contribute, then I’m just dead weight.” Jaune explained.

“I want to be on this team, with all of you. I want to be a leader you can rely on. That’s why I’ve... tolerated Cardin as long as I have.”

Finally, Pyrrha spoke up, “Ren, Nora; Jaune and I are going for a walk. We’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t wait up, okay?”

The pair shared a look and shrugged.

“If you want to prove yourself so bad, then come with me.”

Jaune had no idea what was going on, he simply followed.

**/-/**

Their walk had been a lot more than just a change of scenery for a heart to heart. They had headed back to their lockers and collected their gear. Pyrrha suited up with all of her armor, not just her weapon.

They left the campus grounds and wound up at the cliffs above the docks.

“Down you go,” Pyrrha instructed.

“You’re not telling me to jump are you?” Jaune half-joked.

“Down. You. Go.” Pyrrha ordered as she started to climb down herself.

A 20-minute descent in silence had Jaune anxious for what was coming. When they reached the bottom there was no boat to cart him away and no concrete shoes for him to slip into either. It was a reassuring sign.

“Good. Now climb back up.” Pyrrha commanded.

As she said this, she climbed onto his back.

“You want me to climb back up while carrying you? What if I fall?” Jaune asked.

“Don’t fall. Climb”

So climb he did. With all her equipment on, she wasn’t exactly light. Comparable to the strain he felt during their team exercise, perhaps a bit easier.

“Does the fact that I’m being carried by you make me any less worthy as your partner?” She asked after they had made some progress.

“No?” he responded.

“Do you think it makes me weaker than you? You think that because I’m not carrying my own weight that I’m not as strong?”

“What are you getting at, of course not. You’re way out of my league.”

“Then why do you think that way about yourself whenever you need a little help?”

_Oh._

Jaune didn’t respond.

Pyrrha left him to think over what she had said for a while. The climb was going much faster than last time. He didn’t need to time his moves with his teammates, so he could move as fast as he wanted.

At the halfway point of the climb 15 minutes later Pyrrha began to hum thoughtfully.

“It was around this height where we got hit by that wind right?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think?”

Immediately after his response, he felt his body lurch to the side. Pyrrha was still only clinging onto him, but her body was pulling him to the left very forcefully. Jaune was forced to take the same actions as last time to maintain his hold on the cliff.

“Could you quit that? I get it okay.”

“No, you wanted to prove yourself. I want this behind us with no regrets, so you’re going to do this the same way we did, but I’m not going to help you once. Then once we reach the top you’ll have ‘earned’ your position with us.”

“That’s not really the same thing…”

“Then what will it take! How many risks are you going to take, how many gambles? How much are you going to hurt yourself before it’s enough? I don’t want to watch my partner throw himself in front of an opponent's weapon because of his pride. What will be next? Taking on an Ursa Major by yourself?” She yelled.

“I want my partner back! I want the Jaune I met in initiation who worked with me, not against me.”

As Pyrrha's Semblance grew stronger with her emotions, he was pulled harder and harder. If he didn't do something, it would pull him off the cliff.

“I’m sorry okay! I was being a jerk. You were only trying to be nice and…” Jaune yelled back.

“I get it now, okay? I get it.”

The pulling subsided slowly until it was just the weight of the girl on his back that hindered him.

“I can’t promise that I won’t throw myself in harm’s way. If it’s the only option available, I’m going to put your safety before my own. That’s just who I am, that’s how a leader should be. But… I guess I can stop forcing myself to do everything else by myself.”

They climbed in silence for a few moments, before Pyrrha finally responded.

She wrapped her arms around his neck gently. No longer just hanging on, but embracing him from behind.

“That’s all we wanted, your team missed their leader, you know? We’re a team… and you’re my friend. We should be able to help each other. That means you helping me, and me helping you, Jaune.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry… I don’t suppose you can hop off now?”

Pyrrha laughed softly right next to his ear.

“Nope, keep climbing.”

His apology to his whole team upon his return had been accepted with a team hug. Even Ren seemed happy to participate.

“So what are you going to do about Cardin?” Ren asked.

Jaune scratched his head, “I don’t know. There’s not much I can do other than follow his orders. If I get kicked out, you guys won’t have a team leader. I don’t want to put you guys through that.”

“But if you keep doing what he tells you, we won’t have our team leader anyway. You’ve been too busy to train with us or hang out with us. We even got permission to take on that extermination job, but we need you to be there or it doesn’t count.” Pyrrha asked.

“We need our fearless leader!” declared Nora.

“I’ll work something out. Maybe I can just talk to him?” Jaune suggested.

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow in response.

“Yeah okay maybe not. But still, leave it with me.”

“What about tomorrow? We have to go out to Forever Fall.” Nora mentioned.

Jaune frowned.

“If I’m lucky he’ll let me go, he didn’t make me do any training today-”

“You can call it what it was Jaune, we all saw the bruises. He wasn’t helping you train.” Pyrrha interrupted.

Continuing as if the interruption had never happened, “So maybe he will let me off during the trip. He didn’t like leaving real evidence. All I ever got left with were bruises from ‘training’, and there is no way to prove otherwise.”

“Just don’t do anything stupid,” Pyrrha asked.

“Would I do that?”

**/-/**

_That was really stupid._

“You know that wasn’t very smart Jauney-Boy,” said Cardin, as a jar’s worth of red sap flowed down his chest.

He grabbed Jaune by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off the ground. Jaune grabbed at the arm holding him, trying to force Cardin away from him. He was met with a fist to the face that sent him crashing back to the ground for his efforts.

Sky, Dove, and Russel all stood around Cardin and Jaune as he was lifted once more. Even if Jaune managed to get away from Cardin, it didn’t look like they were going to just let him walk away.

“I’m gonna make sure they send you back to mommy in teeny, tiny pieces.” Cardin taunted.

Jaune’s head spun from the blow and the collision which had rocked his brain. He barely managed to pull his head forward and make eye contact with Cardin.

“I don’t care what you do to me. But you are not messing with my team.”

Cardin grabbed him by the throat and lifted him even further off the ground.

“You think talk like that makes you tough? You think you’re a big strong man now?” Cardin asked.

Jaune couldn’t squeeze out a reply, so he opted to shrug his shoulders and throw Cardin a smirk.

Cardin shouted and drove Jaune into the dirt, nearly crushing his throat in the process.

He mounted Jaune and began raining strikes onto his face and head.

“That know-it-all! Redhead! Bitch! Isn’t here to save you! You think she can protect you?!” Every few words were accompanied by yet another strike.

Jaune’s already struggling aura was shattered by the barrage of blows. Cardin's strikes began to bruise and split the skin and flesh of his face.

Straining his voice to work through his injured vocal cords Jaune replied.

“We protect each other.”

“Hrraaagh!” Cardin yelled as he brought his fist down once more onto Jaune’s face.

There was a bright flash of brilliant white light, and the pain Jaune had been expecting never came. More to the point, his body hadn’t felt this good in days.

Cardin had gotten off of him, allowing Jaune to get to his feet. He clutched at his right hand, groaning. Sky and Dove slipped in from behind. They grabbed both his arms and forced him onto his knees.

When he recovered from whatever had happened to his wrist, he turned to Jaune.

“Let’s see how much of a man you really are.”

A roar came from behind as an Ursa larger than any he had seen before barreled into view.

It reared up onto its hind legs, sniffing the air around it and it came slamming down right in front of Cardin.

Cardin was rooted in place, unable to turn and run lest it strikes him from behind. His teammates were not. They turned tail and fled into the forest. As their leader was single-handedly batted to the ground, they disappeared beyond sight.

With Cardin knocked aside, there was no one standing between the beast and Jaune. He could see the large external bone spikes that covered its back. Its entire face and the majority of its body was covered in thick bone plates, marked with the typical Grimm red. From his position on his knees, the Grimm was at least twice his height, and that was on all fours.

It turned away from Jaune, seemingly uninterested. Instead, it moved over to where Cardin was crawling away. He tried to pull out his weapon to defend himself, but it was knocked out of his grasp with a swing of its arm. As Jaune got to his feet, the mace landed before him.

Jaune watched in muted shock as Cardin was played with by this giant creature. There was no doubt about it. It’s size, ferocity, and intelligence all pointed to one simple fact. This was an Ursa Major.

_What had Pyrrha said again? Don’t do anything stupid? Don’t take on an Ursa Major by myself? What is she, freaking psychic or something._

Cardin was unarmed and it looked like the last blow had hurt his leg. He was dragging himself away with just his arms, as the Grimm slowly got on its hind legs.

Jaune raced forward, he knew what was coming.

_Thunk!_

The Ursa’s paw slammed into Jaune’s shield. He had augmented himself to his absolute limit, but even then he hadn’t expected this. Jaune had planned on taking the blow to earn Cardin some time. Cardin's team would be getting help eventually, so he just had to hold it off. Instead, he had stopped the blow completely. His body barely reeled back from the impact, his legs absorbing almost all the shock.

Jaune drew from the strange well of strength that bubbled within him. He bashed the attacking limb away and countered with a slash of his sword. It dragged through the less-armored belly of the beast. The wound he left cut deeper than what he could normally do to an Ursa Minor. But it wasn’t enough to put it down.

Time seemed to move in slow motion for Jaune as the beast poured on the pressure. Furious at the concept that it had been wounded it entered a berserk state. Its eyes locked onto Jaune with the palpable intent to kill. Jaune dextrously rolled under and leaped over the incoming strikes. He hadn't even needed to block.

“Let’s go!” He cried out.

Jaune was running entirely on instinct as he shouted out, “Leap Slam!”.

He hurtled through the air and cleaved through a shoulder plate, scoring a deep wound to the Grimm. But as a result of using the skill, his body locked up, frozen in place. He was only frozen for a second. But a second was enough for the furious monster to lash out. It put the weight of its entire body through Jaune's chest with a heavy blow.

Jaune was launched back to where he had come from. Once again he could feel the familiar exhaustion that came with running on low aura.

_Nothing I’m not already used to._

He pushed himself back to his feet and stared down the Ursa as it charged toward him.

Jaune charged right back and yelled, “Coup de grâce!”

In the final moments before the strike landed he could see it. The Grimm’s attack was going to land first. A few inches was going to make the difference.

_If only I’d been fast-_

He saw in his peripheral vision something move.

His shield had come up into position, wearing the blow and angling it behind him. As his own body rotated from the blow, he followed through with his attack.

His blade connected with the neck of the Ursa and didn’t break contact until it had exited out the other side. His single blow decapitated it cleanly, separating its head from its shoulders.

Breathing heavily, Jaune slowly stood up. His shoulders fell back and his chest stuck out as he felt pride unlike anything before. That was a kill that anyone could be proud of. Even if it was done to save someone like Cardin.

Jaune looked over to where Cardin was last. He stared at Jaune slack-jawed, and when Jaune offered him a hand up he stammered over his own words.

“Holy crap Jaune… Was that? When did you?”

“Don’t ever mess with my team, my… friends, ever again,” Jaune responded, staring holes into Cardin’s eyes.

“Got it?”

Cardin never had the chance to respond, but Jaune already knew his answer. He simply left him behind, sitting in his silence.

**/-/**

It had been so long, he nearly forgot how good they were.

Ren’s pancakes were simply legendary.

His cooking was the second best thing about this entire school. The first, of course, being his team.

“You were there, weren’t you Pyrrha?” Jaune asked the girl sitting beside him.

She swallowed the mouthful or syrupy goodness and replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Jaune smiled, and softly laughed to himself.

“Right, well. Thanks anyway. For everything. I know I didn’t deserve it, but it was your training...”

Jaune looked to Ren and Nora who had brought their plates down to seats across the table.

“All your training that helped me today. It would make me the luckiest guy in Beacon if you would be willing to continue helping me. I’m going to need it after all.”

They each looked at each other and smiled.

“We’ll help each other.”


	12. School Days IV

“I may not have been first, but I knew an adventure when I saw one. ‘You have my axe!’ I told them. I would help that boy take the explosive charges to the mountain to defeat the great evil!”

_Professor Port’s stories are always so over the top. What does this even have to do with hunting Grimm?_

“Psst. Jaune.” Ruby whispered from beside him.

Jaune leaned over closer to her so they could talk. Disturbing the professor from his storytelling never ends well.

“Where have you been all week? I wanted to hear about what happened with the Ursa.” Ruby whispered.

“Catching up on schoolwork,” Jaune whispered back.

It was true too. Before his time with Cardin, he had been ahead of schedule. Getting his assignments completed several days before they were due. Wrangling Nora with Ren and convincing her to do her assignments was a part of this process. But up until yesterday, he had been nearly a full week behind. It had taken the last three days of hardcore study to get back on top of things. On the bright side, his intelligence had increased from all the studying.

“How did you hear about the Ursa anyway?” he asked.

“I was there. Didn’t you see us?”

“Us? How many people saw that?”

Pyrrha scooted up against Jaune, “I also might have been there.”

“Anybody else?” Jaune asked.

“Who cares about that tell us how you did it already! You’ve never used those skills before and you were so fast. You cut off its head in one swing it was so cool!”

Ruby’s fawning was cut short when Weiss pulled her away to force her into taking more notes.

Her desire for knowledge was understandable. Jaune had been itching with the desire to find those very same answers himself. His only clue was a change to his status which he had observed the night afterward.

 **???**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.

No name, limited description, it just sat there in his skill list taunting him. It explained the specifics of what had happened, but it left him with more questions on how or why. His sword had cut deeper because his aura channeling was increasing his damage. Everything seemed slower because he was faster. A result of his dexterity being increased by his augmentation skill. Even the way Cardin injured his wrist could be explained if it somehow hardened his aura shield.

Jaune looked over at Ruby. She was pouting at the fact that Weiss had dragged her away from the conversation. It was like looking at a kicked puppy, so Jaune threw her a bone.

“My team promised to help me experiment with it once I caught up on my work. You can come to join us if you want.”

The sparkle in her eyes was blinding.

“To this, he asked me ‘How about fighting beside a friend?’. To which I-” The professor spoke, before being interrupted by an alarm.

“Oh, I guess I timed that one poorly. You’ll have to wait until next week to find out what happened next. Train hard students!”

_Finally._

Jaune eagerly packed up his things, keen to get to a training ground.

“Ready to go guys?” he asked.

“Right behind you Jauney, I can’t wait for today’s training!” Nora exclaimed.

“Really? Why are you so excited?” Jaune asked.

Ren put a hand on his shoulder and Pyrrha wrapped herself around his opposite arm.

“Because she has a great idea of how we can try to trigger that ability. She’s heard you mumbling about it these last few days and she really wanted to help. You are going to let her help, right?” said Ren.

“Guy, don’t worry. I’m over all that, of course I’ll let her help. What’s her idea anyway?”

“Well…” said Pyrrha.

“No! My idea, I get to tell him!” Nora interrupted, “It triggered right after you got beat up by Cardin, right?”

“Yes… How did you know that anyway?” Jaune replied.

“You do mumble pretty loud when you’re thinking about things,” Pyrrha explained.

“Anyway! If it triggers when you get beat up. Then we just need to beat you up until you learn to control it!” Nora said with a smile.

Instantly Jaune’s fight or flight response kicked in and he tried to get away. Unfortunately, the grip on his shoulder and arm tightened. He was forced to continue marching with them. Even the activation of his aura didn’t break their iron grip.

“Oh come on, you’re our fearless leader! You’re not afraid of little ol’ me are you?” Nora asked innocently.

“Who me? Afraid? Never.” Jaune replied.

Ruby spoke from behind him, “Never? So you’d fight anyone?”

“If it was training, I guess?” Jaune answered, trying to crane his neck around to see who he was talking to.

“Good thing you brought me along sis, this is going to be fun!” said Yang, somewhere from behind.

“I did tell you not to pick a fight with an Ursa Major, this is just your punishment,” Pyrrha stated.

Jaune whined.

**/-/**

“Square up Blondie!” Nora shouted, swinging her weapon around menacingly.

“Me?” Yang asked from the sidelines.

“Not you. You! Put up them hands!”

Jaune readied his shield and sword. He might have agreed to the concept, but he wasn’t going to just stand there and take it. Might as well use his time to get some real training in.

He knew that despite Nora’s emphasis on being a strong fighter, she wasn’t slow. He couldn’t give her the opportunity to wail on him that one of his skills would provide. This fight, at least in the early stages, would rely on his basic skill with the blade.

Channeling his aura into his sword and shield was an instant decision. He could afford the aura for what it provided. What was different in this fight, was that Jaune was not boosting his strength. Instead, he was increasing his dexterity.

Normally when Jaune fought he relied on blocking a blow with his shield. Using his decently high strength to reduce the damage. But after his encounter with the Ursa Major, he had learned the value of augmenting his dexterity. It had its downsides of course. He had to maintain the skill at all times, not just when he swung or blocked. As a result, your aura got drained faster. But by potentially dodging blows that would have drained his aura, it evens out.

He took a risk and boosted his dexterity up to his limit. It didn't leave as much aura for shielding himself if he did get hit. All in all, it cost him over a third of his aura to achieve the desired effect.

Seeing Jaune was ready, Nora transformed Magnhild from warhammer to grenade launcher. The same setup she had used in their last spar. She fired rounds at his location, and then when he began to move, she intercepted him by firing where he was headed.

Jaune's new speed was holding its own. No longer was he thrown around like a ragdoll as he bull-charged his opponent. Instead, he had the leisure of zigzagging through the danger zones. He reached Nora without taking a single blast. It took her a fraction of a second to transform her weapon back to its first form, which Jaune made good use of.

Nora was on the defensive, being forced to block incoming strikes rather than start her own. It was looking good for Jaune, right up until an explosion went off right in his face.

“You can do that?!” He shouted as he landed several feet back.

She had activated the explosive power of her weapon while it was still in hammer form. The resulting concussive blast was focused in a single direction. It was similar to Ruby's sniper-scythe fighting style. But instead of using the added momentum to swing faster, Nora activated it after her strike. All the force was transferred point-blank into the surface of what she struck. Her impressive strength amplified by her extreme payload resulted in a lethal blow.

Even with his dexterity, he lacked the stopping power behind his blows to go toe to toe with her. A few more exchanges like that and he would begin to weaken. It wouldn’t be safe to fight without aura shielding, so he would be forced to draw aura from his muscles.

Still, the objective here wasn’t ‘win’. It was ‘get beaten up and try to learn something’. So Jaune soldiered on. To his merit, he landed glancing blows and shallow cuts. His efforts did eat away at her aura, but his own was being sapped at a faster pace.

Eventually, he had to drop his augmentation to maintain his aura shield. Shortly after he was disarmed when he was forced to parry on of her strikes. The sword was blown out of his hands and across the arena.

“I’ll make this quick, just try to do what you did last time.” Said Nora, as she tackled him to the ground.

She had him mounted, much like Cardin had. The situation was so similar that he began to wonder if she had been there to see it. Just like last time, Jaune’s aura was chipped away slowly by punches that fell upon his guard. She was being nice by striking his guard and not his face, which he had no doubt she had the skill to do.

Eventually, his aura shattered, completely drained, and one last blow was landed. But there was no bright light.

“Stop! Time out!” Jaune yelled, “It would have kicked in by now, it happened right after I ran out of aura.”

Nora hopped off and helped him to his feet.

“No luck huh?” She asked.

“I want to try next!” Yang called out.

“I also want a rematch. You were injured last time Jaune, let’s have a fair fight, okay?” Ruby called right after.

Jaune looked at the two sisters and sighed.

“When I recover my aura. Yang next, then Ruby. Does anybody else want their pound of flesh today?” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha raised her hand slowly, as did Ren.

Nora whispered in his ear.

“Look at you lady killer, you've got me and four other pretty girls lined up, fighting over who’s next. You’re certainly popular.”

“Ren’s a boy, Nora,” Jaune replied.

“But he is pretty.”

**/-/**

“You’re ready to go? So soon?” Yang asked.

“Yep! I mean, I’m not at 100% or anything, but neither are you right?” Jaune replied.

While he had meditated, Yang’s impatience had gotten the better of her. She had challenged Pyrrha to a rematch and about 40% of her aura had been drained as a result. It would have been more if the match hadn’t ended in a ring out.

“Still though…” Yang checked her scroll, confirming Jaune’s aura was filled almost as much as her own.

“I’ve been doing a lot of meditation so I’m getting pretty good at it. It leveled up over the weekend, giving me a pretty handy new bonus.” Jaune explained.

Yang’s face scrunched up.

“Meditation, ugh count me out. It’s so boring. Get your gear and let’s fight, that’s more my style.”

The comment had left a bad taste in Jaune's mouth. Maybe it was a result of hanging out with Cardin too much. Choosing not to use every advantage available just didn't make sense to him. Cardin had been ruthless, and a major asshole, but he took his training seriously.

Regardless, it wasn’t his place to say anything, so he grabbed his gear and headed to the center of the arena.

_Okay, think. What do you know about your opponent…_

_Prefers close-quarters combat. Strong enough to lift a Grimm dozens of times larger than her with her punches. Fast enough to keep up with Pyrrha and skilled enough to put her on the backfoot. Semblance that makes her stronger as she takes damage…_

“Ready to get your ass kicked lover-boy?” Yang taunted.

“No. Are you?” he retorted.

“Pfft, yeah real convincing.”

Yang started moving towards him. She covered ground quickly, but it didn’t look as if she was moving at top speed.

_She is taking it easy on me, giving me time to think. She probably wants a fun fight more than she wants to win._

Jaune swung as she came into range. With impressive flexibility and control, she bent backward and slid underneath the blade. She struck his guard several times and then put some distance between them. They both took the break in action to check the aura display. Through his guard, those small strikes had just barely chipped away at his aura.

If this was how she wanted to play, he would happily play along. He activated his aura within his muscles. Increasing his strength enough to absorb the blows. Being able to safely defend allowed him to counter-attack, chipping away at her aura. This in turn strengthened her blows, forcing him to spend more aura to stay ahead.

Thus it became a battle of attrition. Jaune would either drain her aura and win. Or he would drain his aura and then be taken out by Yang’s enhanced strength. Assuming, of course, he didn’t power her up enough to overcome his defenses.

“You’re way better than you were at the start of the year Jaune. I’m impressed.” Yang complimented.

“I learned from the best.” He responded.

“Yeah? A few late night ‘study sessions’ with the champ I bet?”

Jaune blushed and pushed her away with a shove of his shield.

Jaune took a stance with his blade pointed low. On the sidelines, he heard Ruby shouting out a warning to her sister. This was the same position he took in his match with Ruby, where he threw his weapon away. Yang instantly attempted to close the distance, keeping a close eye on his sword. She probably expected him to throw it like last time.

But he didn’t.

Jaune lowered his body just a few inches toward the ground. At the same time, he swung his sword upwards at the incoming yellow bruiser. The tip of his blade dragged through the arena floor and flung dirt upwards, into Yang’s face. He knew there was no point in trying to grapple with the girl whose specialty was unarmed fighting. But blinding her with a bit of dirt in her eyes would work nicely.

The fight stalled for a second. Yang had her eyes closed, and her face and hair were covered in dirt.

_Did it work?_

Jaune closed in to try and take advantage of her temporary blindness. He swung at the girl's side, but it was brought to a sudden stop as it collided with Yang’s bracers. Her eyes were open now, and they were blood red.

Not the redness associated with having something in her eyes either. This was something else.

“You…” Yang growled.

Jaune tried to jump away but found himself held in place by the wrist.

“You put dirt in my hair! Do you know how long this takes to wash!” She yelled.

Her hair caught fire, burning bright like a mini sun, and she slammed a fist into his gut. A blow too fast to react to, and strong enough to send him flying was he not held in place. She treated him like a paddle ball. Repeatedly slamming into his body, not caring whether he guarded or not. Only to pull him back into another one.

Finally, she released him, letting him bounce out of bounds with a shred of his aura remaining.

_Another loss._

Jaune pushed himself back onto his feet and made his way back over to the sidelines where everyone else was.

“That was a good attempt. Pretty fun too. Just… Don’t mess with the hair next time.” Yang said with a slap on the shoulder.

She passed him by and made her way over to her team which was already sharing their praise for another win.

_Must be nice._

His pang of jealousy struck fast and left just as quickly when logic took over. There wasn't much point in being upset over this loss. Not when his opponent was probably the second strongest student in his year.

_I did well just lasting as long as I did I suppose. If it wasn't for her Semblance I might have had a chance._

“It would seem that Nora’s idea isn’t working. We can try another method to unlock your Semblance.” Said Ren.

“You think this is my Semblance?” Jaune asked.

“What else could it be, it’s not working the same way as your other skills. You first used it in a stressful situation, that’s how a lot of huntsmen learn about theirs. It makes sense.” Pyrrha explained.

“Indeed. Some can unlock the secrets of their Semblance through training or meditation. But many of us unlock ours when we need it most.” Ren added.

“Hmmm. You said meditation can help right? What if I trained my aura skills? The only effect I know is that it boosts the effect of my aura skills, so maybe training with them will help?”

“It’s as good an idea as any. I could teach you other skills to practice with if you want? I don’t know how much use you’ll get out of them, but it could be good control training.” Ren offered.

“What is it?” asked Jaune.

“Remember how the headmaster told you that Nora and I killed a king Taijitu? It’s the skill I used to do it. You use your aura to create a pulse of energy that enters the opponent, causing internal damage. The skill is called Shockwave. In truth, you’ll likely need to learn a second skill Aura Emission to perform it. Since you use a sword, you might not use it much. It's an unarmed fighting skill.”

“Ren how come you’re always so willing to share your skills? I mean, don’t get me wrong I’m really grateful for your help. But you had to work hard for these didn’t you?”

Ren looked thoughtful for a moment.

“It's not like I lose anything from teaching you though, do I? In fact, by sharing my skills I serve to gain something. Insights you may learn through your training could be ones I have yet to. By teaching you, I can help an ally become more powerful, and earn a chance to become stronger myself. All for the cost of the time it takes to teach you.”

“Something tells me only you could come to that conclusion. You’re a really cool guy Ren, I’m glad we’re friends.”

To Jaune’s surprise, his comment caused a visible change in the boy’s face. His normally unchanging expression was accented by a small blush.

Just to Ren’s side, Nora was giving Jaune a knowing look, having caught him staring.

“I told you he was pretty.”

**/-/**

A call from Weiss and the mention of assignments being ‘late’ later, Ruby and Yang took their leave. Ruby made sure to promise Jaune that she would give him that rematch eventually.

It was getting later and their team still hadn’t gotten food yet, so Ren took off for the cafeteria with Nora in tow.

“You go with them Pyrrha, I want to try something before I call it for the night.” Said Jaune.

“Okay, don’t be long though.” She replied, moving to catch up with the others.

_Time to tie up some loose ends._

His Semblance, if that’s what it was, wasn’t the only thing that had been on his mind.

He had also managed to steal and use several of Cardin’s skills, putting them to use for the first time against the Ursa. He hadn’t fully unlocked the skills yet however, something he planned on rectifying.

As a result of being on the receiving end of these skills, he had been given a crash course in how they worked. Leap slam was simple enough. The force behind its blow came from the extra force that gravity provided. Cardin always swung right before he landed, maximizing his potential energy. On one occasion Jaune had managed to interrupt the skill by dashing into Cardin mid-leap.

Knowing this, it only took a few repetitions before he unlocked the skill properly.

You have unlocked the **[Leap Slam]** skill.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.

The second skill was more problematic for Jaune. Cardin had once said that he wanted a live target to practice on. This skill was likely what he was referring to. He never used it when training by himself, only during spars. This probably had something to do with the conditions for its activation.

Cardin would always use this so-called finishing blow as exactly that. He never used it in the middle of a fight, despite how much damage it could deal. This led Jaune to believe that the skill required a target that was damaged or injured. Perhaps even just the position of the target was a factor, like when he had first been struck with it. At that time he wasn’t injured and still had most of his aura, but he was in a vulnerable position.

When he had used it against the Ursa Major, Jaune had already done a reasonable amount of damage. Scoring a wound to its torso that would have gutted a real bear, and carving into its shoulder too. His sword had seemed to hone in on the Ursa Major’s neck too. A weak spot of sorts, if they even exist for Grimm.

After a few minutes of attempts, he realized he would need a real target for this. Since he wasn’t willing to use it on someone in a friendly spar, this meant Grimm.

But this was a problem for another day, he had to catch up with his team before Nora ate his share of the food.

**/-/**

“Any luck?” Pyrrha asked Jaune as he took his seat beside her.

“Yes and no. Can you tell me the details of the job we got permission for? I’m thinking we take it.” Jaune replied.

“Oh sure, but tomorrow is a no go, I’m busy. It’ll have to be later in the week.”

“That’s new for you, what are you up to tomorrow?”

“I have to meet with my sponsors. Let them know how things are going, give them a chance to give their input on how I should do things. The Vytal Festival is a big opportunity for them, and me.”

“Is our performance going to have an impact on your situation?” Ren asked as he flipped another stack of pancakes onto the table.

Pyrrha tensed up at the question.

“It… might. But I don’t want you to feel you must hold yourselves to their standards.” She responded.

“We’ll be up against older students with more experience, and several schools’ worth at that. So it’s not like we have to win. I’m confident that by the time of the tournament, we’ll be strong enough to put on a good showing.” Jaune encouraged.

“Well…” Pyrrha mumbled.

What went unsaid was heard loud and clear by everyone.

“Guess that just means we have to win then!” Nora exclaimed through a mouthful of pancakes.

“That means you need to get into shape. Hope you’re not scared of hard work, oh fearless leader.”

Jaune asked once more. An attempt to distract Nora from whatever devious ideas she was brewing.

“How about that job though? I’ll need better gear for the tournament, so that means we will need to start taking on a few missions. Tomorrow is off, but Friday should work, right? History classes are usually pretty tame. We can go right afterward, fully rested.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Ren stated.

“If I recall it was an extermination mission. An alpha Beowolf and its pack in Forever Fall Forest. Some train company wants to recover a few carriages they lost from one of their trains. They can’t while the Grimm is in the area. It’s a lot deeper than we usually go, so we will probably miss the next day’s class, maybe more if we need recovery time.” Pyrrha explained.

“Beowolves? But that’s easy!” complained Nora.

Jaune reflected on his budding knowledge of Grimm species. An Alpha to the Beowolves is like the Ursa Major. Unlike them, however, they didn't bulk up and grow thick armor plating. Instead, they gained intelligence, ferocity, and a host of new tricks. Though they are usually bigger and stronger than the usual Beowolf too.

“Do we know how big the pack is?” Jaune inquired.

“The report didn’t say anything special, so it can’t be much bigger than normal. Maybe a dozen or so.” Pyrrha answered.

“Alright then, we can manage that. Take tomorrow to get everything you need ready. On Friday, we’re going hunting!”

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 8 [+2]**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 18 (43)**

**Fortitude: 25 (61)**

**Dexterity: 15 (36)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **???**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.

 **[Aura Control: Level 3]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 23%   
All Aura abilities are 30% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 2]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 12(15) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 3]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 13(16) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(195)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 2]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 50(65) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 1]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 11(13) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.5xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 5]**   
Aura Recovery Rate +150% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)  
** Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 30%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 2] (Passive)  
** Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 20%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 10%

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.


	13. Fang and Claw I

_Today is the day._

_My first real job as a huntsman._

“In training,” Pyrrha said.

“How did you know what I was thinking,” Jaune asked.

“It was written all over your face. Your eyes were sparkling so much we thought we might go blind.” Ren added.

“I wasn’t aware you knew how to be sarcastic Renny,” said Nora

“One of his many talents, I’m sure.” Jaune retorted, “Still, today IS the day of our first job. Aren’t you guys excited?”

His three teammates looked at each other and shrugged.

“Jaune, I don’t want to burst your bubble…” Pyrrha began.

_I have a feeling you’re going to._

“But we are going to be hunting Beowolves. Compared to initiation, this is going to be a cakewalk.”

“Listen. I didn’t spend all day yesterday coming up with team attack names, just so my teammates could turn on me like this. So let me hear some team spirit!” Jaune ordered.

“Yay…” His team droned.

**/-/**

“So where’s that team spirit now, fearless leader?” asked Nora.

Ignoring the laughter of his team, Jaune wiped the last chunks of breakfast off his lips. He was determined to make today something special.

Early on into their job he knew he wouldn’t need to worry too much. The level of Grimm on the outskirts would be manageable. With Pyrrha and Ren utilizing their keen senses, the chance of an ambush was low.

This meant that Jaune could continue the training he had started yesterday.

It was one of the aura control training methods Ren had mentioned over a week ago. It involved the shaping of aura into letters at the end of a finger. Jaune hadn’t tried it until recently but was pleased to see it was quite a relaxed training method. The activity could be practiced idly, or with focus, if desired. It made things feel more natural, which in turn would make his real techniques easier to perform. The best part was since his aura wasn’t doing anything other than moving around, it didn’t drain his reserves at all. He was able to maintain peak combat readiness while slowly improving his control.

A few minutes of travel later Nora asked, “How far away are these train carriages?”

Pyrrha answered, “At our current pace, maybe an hour or so in this direction. It’ll probably take us longer though, there should be Grimm encounters.”

A small part of Jaune hoped it stayed that way. He did need to make some money, and the live training was important. But walking through the Forever Fall Forest without the need to be on guard had been a great experience. None of his previous ventures into the forest had given him the chance to enjoy the view. Everywhere he looked were gorgeous shifting shades of red. The imagery of candy apples and rubies came to mind, as did his partner.

“Pyrrha, has anyone ever told you that your hair is almost the exact shade of red as this forest?” he asked.

“I can’t say that they have. Is that a good thing?” asked Pyrrha.

“I guess? It’s a nice color, though personally, my favorite color is white.”

“Not yellow?” Pyrrha asked with a smirk.

“Because of the hair?”

“Yes, the hair. And the name, and the crest on your shield.”

“Yellow is more of a… family thing..”

“White hmm? Is that why you were hitting on Weiss on our first day?”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me. Maybe I should swap to green instead. Ren is my favorite after all.”

Nora laughed loudly and even Ren spared a small outburst.

Pyrrha gasped and covered her mouth in mock shock.

“You wound me. We’re partners! I’m supposed to be your favorite!” she taunted.

“What’s your favorite color then.”

Pyrrha tapped her chin thoughtfully.

“Perhaps green shall be my favorite as well.” She finally answered.

“Hey! We can’t all pick green. Besides, it was my favorite first. So you both have to switch!” Nora complained.

They all shared a laugh, deciding to call a truce for now.

**/-/**

“Guys.” Ren called out, “I noticed something.”

It had been over half an hour since they started traveling. Ren had been periodically using his aura awareness to check for signs of life early on. His radius was much larger than Jaune’s, and he could send pulses, rather than holding it out. This meant a lot less aura being wasted.

“What is it? Is the pack near?” Jaune asked.

The four stopped to discuss, it would be their first encounter of the day. The fact that it had been so long with nothing happening had them on edge. It wasn’t normal.

“No.” he replied, “It’s people.”

“Out here? That can’t be right” said Pyrrha.

“It’s not Grimm, and it’s not just some animals either. I can feel it, there’s no doubt. They have aura.”

“You think another team took our job? I thought that wasn’t allowed.” Said Jaune.

Ren pulsed his aura a few times.

“I don’t think it’s a team. I can only sense 3 of them.”

“Pyrrha, didn’t you say the carriage would be around here too?” Nora asked.

Pyrrha nodded, checking her scroll to confirm that they had been out here for nearly an hour already.

“Something isn’t right. There haven’t been any Grimm in the area all day and now this. I think we should check it out.” Jaune decided, “We don’t know who these people are or what’s going on, so let’s take it slow and try to take a look.”

The grip on their weapons became that much more serious. They had been carrying them this whole time, a precaution against getting jumped. But now they each knew that at any moment they might really need them. It could be bandits trying to rob the carriage. Or worse, civilians who managed to lure the forest's supply of Grimm to their location.

As quietly as they could, they continued in the direction Ren had pointed out. Ren’s range was at best a few dozen meters This meant that whoever was ahead would be just beyond the next patch of trees. It didn’t take long at all before the train became visible through the foliage.

Nearly half a dozen carriages were stalled on these tracks, each showed damage to the sides. Large scratch marks that fully penetrated the outer shell of steel. Moving around the furthest carriage were 3 individuals. Each wore white masks with red patterns on them.

Pyrrha had the best sight on them, using her scope to zoom in on them.

“Jaune, I think these-” Pyrrha started.

“Nora move!” Ren shouted as he tackled his partner to the ground.

Not one second later a bullet landed in a tree behind where she had been standing. Jaune immediately got in front of the prone pair, placing his shield in front of them and himself. A second shot ricocheted off his shield not long after.

“Pyrrha can you see where that’s coming from?” Jaune shouted.

“From behind the carriages, but we have bigger problems!” She responded, taking shots toward the train.

Jaune saw that the three they had spotted were headed in their direction.

“They’re the same people from initiation!” Pyrrha shouted, finishing what she had been trying to say earlier.

Before he had a chance to respond, a sound roared from ahead, drowning out the gunfire. The big one had started up a chainsaw, and it was bigger than any chainsaw he had ever seen.

“They didn’t have that before!” Jaune yelled in surprise. “Ren, Nora, get up! You can’t stay still while that guy has us in his sights.”

Jaune helped them get up and they retreated into the denser forest. He hoped the wall of wood would be enough of an obstacle for the man's bullets.

“Ren, how did you know he was going to shoot? His bullets don’t make a sound or anything. Even Pyrrha got hit.” Jaune asked.

“He can mask his presence, but I could feel him with my aura. When the bullet enters my radius I have just enough time to dodge or move someone out of the road. But I can’t keep this up forever. We need to take him out.” He explained.

“Easier said than done.” Pyrrha replied, “They’re coming.”

“Ren, how long can you keep that up for?” Jaune asked.

“If it was just me and Nora, 10 minutes. But covering all four of us, 5. 6 at the most if I have to.” Ren answered.

“Fine. Pyrrha, you’re with Ren. Follow his lead and take out that sniper as fast as possible.” Jaune ordered.

“But-” Pyrrha started.

“No buts. He is the biggest threat and none of us can fight properly until he is dealt with. I’m sending our strongest out to take out their strongest. Nora, you’re with me. We’re going to distract as many of these chumps as we can, or take them out if we are lucky.”

“You got it!” Nora shouted.

“Ren, keep my partner safe, and I’ll do the same. That’s an Arc promise!”

They each nodded, agreeing to their roles.

Pyrrha and Ren raced off to the right, no doubt cutting off the sniper who was trying to circle them.

Nora and Jaune raced back towards the carriages. They almost instantly caught sight of their opponents, though only two of them. At this distance, Jaune recognized one of them by the woodcutter’s axe that he wielded.

“I’ve got a bone to pick with you jerks!” Jaune shouted, “Your stupid axe completely broke my collar bone!”

“You! You killed my brother you filthy human! When I’m through with you, you’ll have a lot worse than a broken bone. I’m going to tear you limb from limb!” His opponent shouted back.

_Wait…_

_I killed someone?_

In Jaune’s shock at the revelation, he almost didn’t block the axe that hurtled toward him. His survival instincts just barely kicked in, bringing the shield up to block. He could think things through when they were finished.

Unlike their last encounter, the blows did not knock him around. His aura enhanced strength had him easily matching his opponent.

Looking over at Nora’s opponent, Jaune realized something. Unlike the woodcutter he was fighting, her opponent was a bit more dangerous. He held a real combat class, and to make matters worse, it was a mirror match. Barbarian vs. barbarian.

Nora’s hammer swung her weapon with all her strength, but each blow was efficiently dealt with. Every time her opponent would block, he would meet her blow on the shaft of her warhammer. The dangerous mass flew behind him, smothering the force of her attack. In return, he would slide the spinning teeth of his weapon down the handle toward her hands. Being forced to disengage and retreat after every exchange was not good for Nora. At this rate, something bad was bound to happen.

“Hang on Nora!” Jaune shouted.

Jaune taunted his opponent by holding his arms out to his side, opening his defenses on his shield side. Predictably the axe came swinging. His wild telegraphed swings giving Jaune plenty of time to react.

This wasn’t going to be as skilled a technique as what Pyrrha was capable of. But it was going to earn him enough time to help Nora if he pulled it off.

As the swing came in, Jaune used Heavy Strike and aimed for the wooden handle of his opponent’s axe. The wood was dense, picked for the role of handling powerful swings meant for felling trees. Jaune's sword didn't care and ripped a chunk out of the side. The impact on the now weakened shaft caused the axe head's mass to fold the weapon onto itself. The axe was snapped into two useless pieces.

The temporary shock from being disarmed gave Jaune the time to recover from his skill use. No longer fearing a counter-attack Jaune struck three times in quick succession. The Faunus managed to block it with his aura, taking the blows on his arms. He then retreated to the train, slipping between two of the carriages.

Nora’s opponent was bearing down on top of her, laughing madly as his chainsaw flung sparks into her face.

Jaune race in from behind and landed a Heavy Strike to the man’s knees. He faltered, giving Nora the chance to get him off of her with a blow to his upper body that sent him backward. But as if nothing had even happened, he raced back toward the pair, still laughing like a maniac.

“I’ll defend, you hit him with everything you’ve got! Don’t hold back, no matter what, this guy is something else.” Jaune commanded.

Jaune intercepted the barbarian’s berserk charge, taking his blow head-on with his shield. He couldn’t afford to try anything too risky against a weapon that could probably chew up his aura in seconds. If his shield could block Deathstalker and Ursa without so much as a scratch, a chainsaw had no chance.

The vibrations traveled from his shield to the base of his feet. The man's bulk and strength transferring almost directly through the block. His opponent swung his weapon as if it was a battering ram, rather than the chainsaw that it was. Sparks flew for a few seconds as he slashed and bashed into Jaune’s shield, before pulling away to swing once more. Even with his strength augmented as it was, it was like fighting a Semblance fed Yang. Each blow took a chunk out of his aura.

Nora was utilizing a combination of skills he hadn’t heard of before. Slowly her onslaught onto her target’s back was having its effect. The man’s onslaught grew weaker and less intense. It didn't look like he was injured, so she must have a lot of aura. Aura that he was no doubt using to fuel his abilities.

“Forgetting someone?!” A voice called out.

From atop the train carriage stood Jaune’s previous opponent. In his hand, he held a strange metal object. Part of it looked like an upper arm and elbow, but everything else looked like a-

“Gatling gun! Nora stop him!” Jaune shouted.

The gun began to whir, and bullets began to fly. The rounds slammed into his shield with more stopping power than Pyrrha's rifle. He didn't have a chance to move between shots either, that gun fired faster than Ren's machine pistols. Jaune didn't have to check his scroll to know his aura had taken a heavy toll from that. It was a barrage he couldn't afford to take again.

Nora's grenades finally landed on his location, knocking him off the carriage. The onslaught had stopped, but a moment too late. To defend from the spray of bullets, Jaune had let his guard against his closest opponent drop. He had closed in and swung at Jaune from behind. His weapon had started at Jaune’s right shoulder and ended near Jaune’s left foot.

There was a moment when Jaune thought he had been cut clean through. When the pain never came he jumped away, rolling to his feet.

“Dashing Palm Strike!” Ren shouted from nearby.

A green blur shot past and collided with his opponent’s chest. Ren had doubled him over with a single blow, and for a moment he was stuck in mid-air, held in place by the grip on his chainsaw. When the barbarian’s grip finally slipped he was thrown several dozen meters away. Pyrrha then launched his weapon over the closest carriage.

He swore as he stood up, and then raced over to the other side.

“He is leaving.” Ren stated, “As have the others. It appears they’ve given up trying to fight us.”

“Should we go after them?” Nora asked.

Jaune was about to answer in the affirmative when they all heard something from behind.

A deep growling, coming from multiple directions. Silence for a few seconds, and then howling.

“It appears our fighting has gathered the attention of our mark.” Said Pyrrha, “And I think I know why we hadn’t seen any Grimm on our way over here.”

Slowly exiting the forestry to approach them was a Beowolf pack. There had to be at least 30 of them, and right in the middle was the alpha.

It stood easily 12ft tall, choosing to walk on its hind legs instead of all fours like the rest of its pack.

The pack slowly spread out, circling them and forcing their backs to the carriage.

The alpha howled once more and then all hell broke loose.

Jaune did his best to take out as many of the Beowolves as he could, his strikes were certainly strong enough to do it. Unfortunately, they had the numbers advantage. Every opening that one left was covered by half a dozen others. Every swing risked presenting an arm or leg to the snapping fangs and rending claws. Jaune had to do something fast.

“Guys. I’m going to need you to trust me okay! Hold them off, don’t do anything risky, I just need 1 minute.”

He got down to the ground and slipped underneath the carriage.

“And when I say duck, you hit the deck!”

Jaune crawled under the carriage as fast as possible, the sounds of combat urging him forward. He had to do this fast, and properly, he would only get one shot.

Once he was on the other side, Jaune could see the cargo that whoever those people were had fought so hard for. Hundreds of robot soldiers lined the interior of the carriage. Each was fitted with bladed arms or gatling guns. Every single one was destroyed in some manner. Some were carved and shot to pieces. Another select portion was cut clean as if they were made of straw and had been sliced by a katana.

He didn’t have time to stare and he moved over to the nearest droid and cut off its arm. Jaune raced several carriages away and observed his new weapon, trying to work out how to turn it on. It had looked easy enough when it was aimed at him.

He slipped between a gap in the carriages and as quietly and quickly as he could manage, he circled the pack. It had tightened around his team, nearly two Grimm thick, leaving barely any room to even breathe.

Finding a switch, Jaune flicked it and the gun spun into life.

“Duck!” He shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping that they heard him and could follow his command.

Bullets ripped through the Grimm like a hot knife through butter. Even with all his strength, it was hard to aim this thing and stop the recoil from pulling his aim upward.

The alpha Jumped on top of the carriage away from the spray and used its powerful legs to leap at Jaune.

Jaune decided to risk it. Half the pack remained, a problem he could fix. He was fairly certain he could take a single attack from the alpha. Sacrificing the chance to defend himself, Jaune continued wiping out the weaker Grimm. Inevitably, it reached him, taking him to the ground and knocking the gun from his hands. With no one to control it, the weapon stopped firing.

The gambit paid off. Including the one which was attempting to tear out his throat, there was barely a half dozen left. His team could handle that.

Jaune grabbed at the throat of the Beowolf, holding it’s sharp fangs away from him as best he could. With his spare hand, he fumbled with his shield, trying to get it out and activate it. A few more seconds like this and he would need to drop his augmentation to maintain his aura shielding.

_Click_

The shield transformed, putting a wall between the beast and his body. Now more properly defended, Jaune drew his sword and forced it between the ribs of the Beowolf atop him.

The alpha let out a whine and leaped off him. Its strength and experience was a result of it living so long. Long enough to develop a survival instinct that other Grimm lacked.

“Are you alright?” Pyrrha asked as she ran up to him.

_Thank god she’s okay._

“How are the others?” he asked, ignoring her question.

Ren and Nora both appeared on his other side.

“We’re fine.” Said ren.

“Let’s finish this!” Nora exclaimed.

“Wait! Let me, I’ve got this one.” Jaune yelled, “Don’t worry, if it looks like I’m in trouble, you can step in. But I want some payback.”

His teammates stepped back and circled the Grimm. Even if they were willing to let Jaune take this by himself, they didn’t want it to get away.

Jaune double-checked his aura. Just enough to boost his strength and maintain a small shield. There was nowhere near enough to consider boosting his dexterity. He would need to rely on his ability to read his opponent rather than enhanced reflexes.

_Last time it swapped positions before leaping. Let’s see if it does it again._

Jaune slowly approached the snarling Grimm. Jaune held his sword high above his head, ready to unleash a counter-attack with as little delay as possible. His shield was held across his body. Guarding his front where his opponent was, but leaving his flanks unprotected.

The Beowolf leaped to his left, circling him counterclockwise.

“Gotcha!” Jaune shouted.

The Grimm leaped at his unprotected side but was met mid-air with a shield bash that knocked it to the ground.

_Injured? Check. Poorly positioned? Check._

“Coup de grâce!”

You have unlocked **[Coup de grace]**

Jaune brought his sword down atop the Grimm’s neck. The spikes around its shoulders presented some resistance. Even then his sword carved its way more than halfway through its neck. A lethal blow, even for a Grimm.

Sheathing his sword, he turned around and addressed his team.

“Our mission is complete, but this whole situation was messed up. I think we should report this before heading back. Ren, are they definitely gone?” he asked.

A few pulses of his aura later, he nodded.

“Right then, for now, I suppose take position around the tracks. I’ll contact the school and tell them to check it out. Check the carriages to make sure nothing bites us in the backside.”

“Got it!” they each responded.

_Time to make an interesting phone call…_

**/-/**

Team leaders have a special number that they can call. It's for use only in emergencies. Often, this means a pickup from irregular locations or a call for backup. Occasionally assistance for a training accident is needed urgently enough to justify calling. This time, however, it was a request for a professional huntsman to investigate. A full review of the current mission events and the current situation was provided by Jaune. It had been deemed that this was an appropriate reaction.

The phone call had been relatively nerve-wracking. Messing up in his report meant that too little or too much support could be sent. The consequences of such a result could be disastrous. But it wasn't the risk of failure that raised the stakes. What had Jaune tense, was the fact this was Professor Goodwitch's contact number.

She could be an intimidating woman, even when she wasn't trying to be. Just saying hello when passing her in the halls had the weaker student's panicking. Trying to act as a team leader and respond to her tersely asked questions was much worse.

Jaune made his way back over to his team. For the time being, Sticking near Ren inside the carriages had been the safest option. Ren was using his aura sparingly, having drained a lot of it leading up to now. This meant that if the aggressors returned, they would have less time to react.

“Find anything?” Jaune asked.

“These containers contained a lot of dust.” Pyrrha mentioned, “Schnee Company Dust.”

_Okay, for this many carriages that means this is probably worth a small fortune._

“The carriage was guarded by droids, though you can probably see that. They’re everywhere. But all of them have been diced up or destroyed with small-arms fire.” Ren added.

“A few carriages up there’s even wreckage of a spider droid. It’s huge!” said Nora.

Ren nodded, “But just like a bunch of these, it was cut clean through. No tearing or warping of the steel, just completely cut. Whoever did this was strong.”

“Makes you wonder how they failed to get away with what they were doing then,” Jaune stated.

“It’s because this wasn’t a robbery.” Said Pyrrha, “This was going to be a bombing.”

Pyrrha gestured towards something that was off to one of the crates that contained dust. Heading over to observe what she meant, Jaune opened the lid, and inside was some kind of device.

“That’s a charge. If they had wanted, they could have detonated all of the dust in this train. It would’ve killed every single person on board.” Pyrrha explained.

“What?!” Jaune shouted.

“Don’t worry, I disarmed it as soon as I found it, and I checked the other carriages too. I was offered private tutoring as a favor from some hotshot trying to get me to be a mascot for his tech company. Considering how it came in handy, I guess it was a good deal.” Said Pyrrha.

“Still, why didn’t they detonate it all this time? The mission details said these carriages went missing weeks ago.”

“I can answer that. The front car was disconnected from the main train. It’s likely their main objective wasn’t just the cargo but the crew members too. Since they failed that, they decided to send people here to collect the dust instead of wasting it.” Said Ren.

“Probably the weapons too,” Pyrrha added.

“Got it. Everyone, focus on resting up. Ren, keep up the lookout. If any Grimm or other problems arise, let us handle it. We need you to make sure they don’t sneak up on us if they come back. It wouldn’t surprise me if they bring reinforcements for a haul like this.”

Jaune immediately began meditating, taking a seat beside Pyrrha. He had drained the majority of his aura just warding those 2 off and fighting a single Grimm.

**/-/**

At most an hour later, they heard the familiar sound of a bullhead overhead. It had come from the direction of the school, which was a good sign. Just in case they snuck out of their hideout to get a look at who was disembarking. To everyone’s satisfaction, they were greeted with familiar faces.

Ms. Goodwitch had been expected, but she was accompanied by team CFVY (Coffee), Coco’s team. Most surprising of all was the presence of the headmaster.

“Good afternoon Mr. Arc. It seems you’ve had an exciting afternoon.”

He always seemed one step ahead of everything, no matter what was happening. Always calm, even under tense circumstances. Jaune couldn’t help but wonder if it was something unique to the Sage class.

“That’s… one way of putting it, sir. We’ve learned a bit more since I phoned for assistance if you’d like to hear it.” Jaune responded.

“I very much would. For now, though, Ms. Goodwitch will be taking the four of you back to Beacon. Ms. Adel and her team will cover for you. We consider this a successful mission. The appropriate funds will be available for pickup. We have included a bonus for services performed outside of mission parameters.” The professor explained.

“And you sir?”

“I will be taking a look around personally. I’m sure the report you gave was nothing less than accurate, but it doesn’t hurt to get a more experienced eye on the scene.”

“Of course. Then, uhh good luck? Sir.” Jaune said, directing his team over to Ms. Goodwitch.

“What’s up Miss G,” Nora asked, seemingly unphased by the woman's presence.

With a sigh, professor Goodwitch asked, “Do any of you need to visit the med bay for any reason?”

Jaune looked over his team and they all shrugged.

“I’ll take that as a no. I suppose congratulations are in order. It’s not every day that our first-year students tangle with the White Fang and walk away unharmed. I believe your last encounter with them ended less favorably.”

“The White Fang?” Jaune asked, unfamiliar with the name.

“Indeed, the description you gave of the masks they wore matches that of White Fang operatives. Interestingly, they didn’t wear their masks in the encounter during initiation, but no matter.”

“No, I mean. What is the White Fang?” Jaune asked once more.

“You don’t know?” the professor asked earnestly, “The White Fang is a Faunus rights activist group. Initially, they had good intentions and were mostly peaceful. But in the face of continued discrimination, their organization has steadily radicalized. One of their biggest targets are shipments from the SDC. A company which they claim to be the worst offenders.”

“This train had Schnee Dust on board,” Jaune stated.

“There you go then. Now, please board the bullhead, you can give a more detailed mission briefing on the way back.”

“Actually…” Jaune started.

“It might be better if we tell you on the way back.” Pyrrha finished.

Jaune swallowed the knot which was building in his throat and boarded the airship.

**/-/**

Disembarking from the bullhead, Ms. Goodwitch asked to speak with Jaune and Pyrrha.

“It has been a few weeks since initiation, has it not?” she asked.

“A few, yeah, I guess?” Jaune answered.

“You haven’t been able to decide what you want yet then?”

“What we want? Professor, I’m not sure I-” Pyrrha glanced at Jaune, “we follow what you’re talking about.”

“Your reward, for being the top-ranked students.” Ms. Goodwitch calmly stated.

Looking back, Jaune did vaguely remember something like that being mentioned. Right around the time he was launched off a cliff and forced to fight for his and his partner’s lives.

“What can we ask for? We completely forgot about it.” Jaune responded.

The professor hummed thoughtfully, looking them both over.

“I suppose that makes sense. Your initiations were the most intense. You were the only passing pair that wound up with injuries. Your reward was a favor from any member of staff. We are to perform any service you request of us that is within our power. Money, personal training, we even have the power to bend the laws of Vale. If only a little bit.” She explained.

“What?!” Jaune shouted, unable to withhold his outburst.

The professor laughed, “Hence our curiosity that neither of you had come to collect on this. Since the situation is what it is, I will let you think about your options for a while longer. This offer doesn’t have a strict time limit, so do feel free to take your time. It would be in your interest to get a headstart on your fellow competitors in the coming festival though."

She turned and walked away, leaving the bewildered pair gawking.

“I could ask for a full set of armor! Or training from the headmaster himself, he was a child prodigy! What are you going to ask for?” Jaune exclaimed to his partner.

“I, I don’t know. God this is like every birthday all over again except 100 times worse.” She responded, much less enthusiastically.

“What’s wrong with your birthdays?”

“Nobody knows what to get me, and they always ask me what I want them to give me. I’ve had more personal training than I care to admit and enough money to buy gear repairs until I retire. That doesn't even including the money I am making on jobs. I hate having to think about what I want or need other people to get me.”

Jaune couldn’t help but feel a little awkward. It was a first world problem for sure, like a rich person complaining about having too much spare time. It probably did suck for them, but everyone else would mostly feel jealous.

“You could always let me use your little favor.” He joked.

“That’s perfect! You can just choose what you want and that way I don’t have to think about it!” she wholeheartedly responded.

“No no no, that was a joke. I can’t just take that from you. Sorry but you’re going to have to come up with something yourself.”

Pyrrha frowned, “That wasn’t very nice of you, I thought you were serious. You owe me now.”

_I owe you for making a joke?_

“And what exactly do I owe you?” he asked.

“That’s a secret.” She winked.

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 9 [+1]**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 18 (43)**

**Fortitude: 25 (61)**

**Dexterity: 15 (36)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **???**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.

 **[Aura Control: Level 3]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 23%   
All Aura abilities are 30% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 2]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 12(15) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 3]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 13(16) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(195)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 2]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 50(65) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 1]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 11(13) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.5xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 5]**   
Aura Recovery Rate +150% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)  
** Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 30%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 2] (Passive)  
** Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 20%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 10%

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de** **grâce** **!]  
** A finishing blow to an injured opponent.  
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.  
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.  
Cooldown 3 seconds.  
Recharge 60 seconds.


	14. Downtime I

“Sir, you asked me to stay behind after class?” said Jaune.

“Indeed I did Mr. Arc. Your performance in class has slipped over the last few days. Both Dr. Oobleck and professor Port pointed out a distinct change after your last mission. Even in my class just now which you normally excel in, you seemed distracted.” Explained the headmaster.

Jaune pushed his hands into his pockets, hiding the fists that he was now clenching. He was hoping this wouldn’t be noticed and that he could just slide under the radar.

“I’m sorry sir, I’ll pay-”

“That’s not the kind of conversation we are having Mr. Arc. You’re not in any trouble. Not unless you want to tell me your results have been intentional.”

The professor began to walk from the classroom, gesturing for Jaune to follow.

“I want to know why you have been distracted.”

Jaune followed behind the professor, listening as he spoke.

“You showed passion and a great talent for my subject. From what I’ve heard you spend more time training than most other students. Such dedication and potential are rare. For that to change so quickly, something must have happened. I will not force you to tell me and if you wish you may leave right now. But I would like to help if I can.”

Jaune let out a sigh, his emotions temporarily overpowering his politeness.

“It’s about the last week’s mission.” Said Jaune.

“That much is clear, but what about it? You completed the mission with no injuries on any team members. Even when the mission exceeded its scope, your team performed beyond expectations. Your team fought trained members of the White Fang. Something beyond the capabilities of ordinary first-year students. Your investigations and decision to call in for backup was quick and correct.”

Jaune temporarily flushed at the praise

“It’s not the mission itself. The four that we fought that day, I know I said in the report that they were the same as the ones during initiation. But that wasn’t 100% true. 3 of them were the same. They had to replace one of their members with the big one who had the chainsaw. They needed the replacement because I killed one of them during initiation.”

They walked in silence for a few moments, the professor waiting for Jaune to say something more.

“Tell me, Mr. Arc. What do you remember of your fight with them, the first one.”

_Out-numbered 4 to 1. I was trapped in a cave with Pyrrha unconscious behind me…_

“I remember putting my sword through that guy's hip.” Jaune said, remembering the moment, “At least several inches deep. He didn’t have any aura as his brother did… I think he’d already used it up in our first skirmish.”

“Then is it not his fault for attacking you while he knew he was without aura?. You should not feel bad that you were attacked by someone who valued their life less than their mission.”

“It’s not the lack of aura that’s the problem. I had aura, and they still nearly killed me. I killed him, that’s the issue. How am I supposed to make my family… How am I supposed to be proud of myself… When I murdered that man.”

“Murder? I commend you for your strong sense of morality, but what you did was not murder. It was self-defense, and it was the right thing to do.”

“How was it the right thing to do!? I killed someone!” Jaune yelled.

The pair walked until they reached the elevator to take them to the headmaster’s office. The headmaster opted not to answer until the doors were shut. It was a small mercy that allowed him the time to calm himself, and the privacy to continue.

“Mr. Arc… This is a lesson that we do not like to teach our students until they’ve had some time to grow. Usually second-year students and onward. So I apologize that you were put in this position. But as a huntsman, you will kill people.”

The professor let that sink in for a moment before continuing.

“We do not merely hunt the monsters with fangs and claws, but also the monsters with human skin. For example, say I had the power to take you back to that moment, to let you go back and choose not to kill that man. Do you know what would be the most likely result of that?”

Jaune remained quiet, knowing the professor would tell him regardless of his answer.

“For starters, you would have died. Your injuries were severe, don't let your complete recovery disguise that fact. Death was a possibility for you even having defended yourself as you did. But your death wouldn't be the end of it. By holding them off as long as you did, you gave your friends time to arrive. Your distraction allowed your team to sneak up and dispatch them. You stopped them from reaching Ms. Nikos who was unconscious from her injuries. If you had have died, then Ms. Nikos would have either died before their arrival... Or been taken hostage and used as leverage to disarm Ms. Valkyrie and her partner. The best opportunity for your friends at that point would have been a 4 against 2 deathmatch. You know from experience fighting them how hard that would be.”

“But I could-” Jaune tried to speak, but was interrupted.

“You ‘could’ have taken him out without killing him, it’s certainly possible. But by taking that chance you would have been gambling with your friend's lives. You weren’t the only team attacked during initiation. 16 students went into that forest, but only 12 passed. The other 4 were all friends with one of their other victims. You killed a criminal, in self-defense. This action potentially saved half a dozen lives. Is that not the way a hero would act?”

Jaune stewed in his thoughts for a while. He wouldn’t ever sacrifice his friends like that. But at the same time…

“So you’re saying the end justifies the means?” Jaune asked with a touch of dissatisfaction.

“Yes, I am.”

Jaune was shocked by the brutal honesty of that response.

“In your career, you will see decades of combat. Your actions will save thousands of lives and impact tens of thousands more. I make no exaggeration when I say I can see the foundations of a powerful warrior. One who would risk his life slaying hordes of Grimm to protect the weak and innocent. But unfortunately, no matter how strong you are, you won’t always be fast enough. No matter how fast you are, you might make the wrong decision. And no matter how many correct decisions you make... There will one day come a time where you have to choose between two terrible options. People will die because of you. Whether it’s because they threw their life away by acting as a criminal, or because you failed them.”

The negativity of what he was saying hit like a truck. The fact it came from a man so famous for his power and intellect made the message hit that much harder.

“Did you…?” Jaune asked.

The elevator doors opened, and the two entered his office, taking a seat.

“Yes. Even I, Mr. Arc, have sins to live with. I would say that I have made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on Remnant. But no matter how many times I have failed, I must never forget one important fact. I have saved and improved more lives than I have ruined or ended. It is a fact that has kept me going these many, many long years.”

Jaune hadn’t thought that the professor looked that old, even with his gray hair. He had never sounded as old as he had just now.

“It is not our job to save everyone, Mr. Arc. Only to save as many people as we can.”

The elevator doors opened once more to his room, and this time it was Ms. Goodwitch who walked through them. Accompanying her was Blake.

“Ms. Belladonna, you’re right on time. I have a simple request for you if you don’t mind.” Said professor Ozpin.

Blake didn’t respond, waiting to hear what this request was.

“I wish to speak with you today with Mr. Arc present. If you don’t mind. Yes, it’s about that and yes I know what I am asking of you. I can’t explain my reasons without giving anything away, but know I do not ask this lightly.”

Blake’s eyes narrowed. Some secret message had been communicated, and it had not been taken well.

“You promised I wouldn’t have to tell anyone if I didn’t want to,” Blake responded.

“And I will keep that promise, just know that I ask this of you because I believe it would be for the best.” The professor explained, “If your answer is no, I can finish my meeting with Mr. Arc and send him on his way.”

Blake stared Jaune down, she did not look happy to have had this forced onto her.

“Can you keep a secret?” she tersely asked

“I-” Jaune tried to respond.

“I’m not joking. You can’t tell anyone. The only people who know about this are in this room, and that’s how I want it to stay. You’re going to have to lie to your team, to my team. Nobody can find out.”

“I promise I won’t tell anyone. An arc never goes back on their word. Whatever this is about stays between us.”

Blake huffed and gestured to the headmaster to take over as she pulled up a chair beside Jaune.

“Ms. Belladonna, I thank you for your kindness in this matter. I will let you do the explaining. But for the sake of getting you on the same page, I will let you know the following. Mr. Arc has had two run-ins with the White Fang.” Blake tensed at the mention of the organization, “He was put in a position where he forced to kill. It was his first.”

Blake’s bow flattened down at the mention that Jaune had to take a life, and she gave him a soft sympathetic look.

“I’m sorry to hear you had to go through that. I… I can relate to what you must be feeling.” Said Blake.

_Wait…_

“Blake… Have you killed someone before?” Jaune asked.

She began to play with the ribbon atop her head.

“Not directly. But my actions have gotten people killed.”

_People?_

“Jaune…” Blake slowly undid her ribbon, “I used to be a member of the White Fang.”

When she pulled the bow away, two cat ears flicked up in their place.

“You? What?” Jaune asked, too shocked for words.

“I joined when I was a kid. Back when the organization was still peaceful. I learned how to fight with the White Fang, and I honed my skills against SDC guards and security forces. I never killed, but every time I knocked out a guard, I knew I was aiding my brothers and sisters to take lives.”

“Perhaps you can understand now why I asked her to let you stay for this conversation. She has had years to come to terms with her actions, something you still need to do. Having someone your age to talk to might be more useful than talking to me. But that can be done in your own time.” The professor stated.

The pair looked to him, waiting to hear what he wanted to say.

“The White Fang has been spotted twice now on academy grounds. In both circumstances, they have taken action directly against our students. I believe that several of my students are being targeted. Ms. Belladonna, your circumstances prior link you to this most recent incident. Team JNPR had made themselves targets by ruining their plans. Ms. Schnee was always going to be a high priority target. And of course, knowing Ms. Rose and her sister’s disposition, they would no doubt get involved.”

The headmaster drank deeply from a thermos that he withdrew from his desk drawer.

“I’ll trust that you both will be able to manage both the secrecy you have sworn to,” He said, looking at Jaune. “and the safety of your teams. Ms. Goodwitch and I will keep our word and let you keep this secret Ms. Belladonna. Do not make us regret this.”

Standing up from his desk, he gestured to Ms. Goodwitch, who headed over to the elevator to let the pair leave.

“For now, that will be all. The two of you should take some time to discuss what you both have learned. Don’t be afraid to come and see me again if you need it. As busy as I am running this school,” Ms. Goodwitch cleared her throat, “I always have time for my students. If you feel you need it, we do have therapists available for exactly this situation. It is not mandatory unless we feel you are slipping.”

“Thank you, sir.” Blake and Jaune responded simultaneously.

**/-/**

Blake and Jaune had headed off in separate directions after leaving the elevator. They had both agreed to contact each other to talk at some point. Neither felt up to more conversation so soon after their respective reveals.

For Jaune, it was a relief to know he wasn’t the only person out there with an experience like this. It was slightly damning that his chosen career would force him to potentially do this over and over. But with people to talk to about it, it would be at least a bit more manageable.

For now, all he wanted to do was relax in his dorm with his team, maybe do some light training.

The instant he opened his dorm room door, these plans were thrown out the window.

“Jaune! You’re back! Here’s your stuff.” Pyrrha said while thrusting Crocea Mors into his hands. “If we hurry we can make it to the bullhead docks before they take off.”

She had only given him a few seconds before dragging him around, helping him get ready. In those few seconds, he only barely recognized the way his partner was dressed.

Replacing her usual form-hugging outfit, she wore a pair of baggy jeans and an oversized hoodie. Her long red hair was tucked up under a cap, giving her a boyish ‘girl-next-door’ look.

“Why are we going to the bullhead? What are you wearing? What’s going on?” Jaune asked, confused by the sudden rush of information.

“They’ve done it again. This time we are going to find out what they’re up to.” She responded as if that answered his questions.

“Who has done it?” he asked as she dragged him out of the room, “What do you mean ‘what they’re up to’?”

“Ren and Nora of course! Several times a week those two go off, by themselves. They spend hours out in Vale doing ‘nothing much’. I don’t buy it. They’re together but not ‘together-together’ but this has to be a date right now. There’s no other explanation.”

Jaune just stared at her, following as quickly as he could so he wasn’t dragged across the ground.

“You can’t tell me you haven’t been curious.” She said.

Jaune managed to steer her toward where he could get his Lien from the last mission. Fortunately, during the ranting, she gave him enough time to withdraw. In total he received a payment of 700 Lien, with the savings from last time; it was an amount he could work with.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit wrong to spy on our friends like this? You know what it’s like to have people snooping around your private life, don’t you? Maybe we should just let them go without bothering them.”

That stopped her. She turned to him, no longer listing the potential things they could be getting up to.

“Okay, you’re right. But in my defense, they didn’t seem to object when we spied on you, so it’s fair game. You owe me a favor anyway, we’re doing this.”

“A favor, you mean…? Wait. You guys were spying on me?!”

“Oh don’t make such a big deal about it. It was when you were hanging out with Cardin. You kept coming back with bruises and we wanted to know why. We didn’t step in and cause any trouble did we, and you never even noticed us.”

He conceded that point. There wasn’t much point in being annoyed when it had already happened and he hadn't even known.

“Fine. But we are visiting the blacksmith while we are out, and you’re coming with me. I promised to introduce my team to the owner ages ago.”

“Deal. Now let’s go, if we hurry we can catch the same Bullhead as them.”

“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose? They'll kind of know we are following them if they see us sitting right next to them.”

“Oh! You don’t have to worry about that. They think we are on a date after all.” She said with a wink.

Finally, they arrived in Vale. A few minutes later his ever-problematic motion sickness finally receded. As his senses returned, he overheard the tail end of his teammate's conversation.

“I was wondering when you were going to ask him. The Invincible Girl; undefeated in 1 on 1 combat but too afraid to say how she feels.” Nora taunted.

_I wonder what that’s about._

Jaune hadn’t been watching, just cleaning himself off and making sure he didn’t leave vomit on his face. Whatever had happened had Ren and Nora apologizing and taking their leave.

From behind him, Pyrrha asked, “Ready to go partner?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be. Do I look okay? I didn’t miss anything did I?” he asked.

With a small laugh, she shook her head, and the two watched as Ren and Nora made their way down the street.

“So what do we do now?” Jaune asked.

“Well… We follow from a distance. If they go into a store, we should go into one nearby. Or the same one if we can pull it off. If you’re hiding any secret stealth skills, now is the time to tell me.”

“No, though I bet I could ask Blake to teach me some,” Jaune mentioned, thinking back to their meeting half an hour ago.

With enough distance, the pair began to follow behind their prey.

“I didn’t think you and Blake were that close. I wasn’t aware you had spoken to her after that time she made you ignite fire dust in that girl's wound.”

_I forgot she did that… I wonder if that sort of thing was something she had to do a lot in the White Fang._

“We’ve talked. Not much, but enough, I guess.”

Pyrrha hummed thoughtfully.

Suddenly, “Oh! They’re going into there, quick Jaune, what kind of store is that?”

The pair raced up to the storefront. To their surprise, it was nothing more than a simple supermarket.

Ren was inside, talking to one of the clerks near the exit from the store. Nora on the other hand was excitedly bouncing up and down next to him.

“What do you think they’re buying?” Pyrrha asked excitedly.

“Pyrrha, they’re literally just in a supermarket. Shouldn’t you wait for them to actually do something exciting before getting all worked up?”

“You’re right, of course. This is a stakeout, this is serious business. Don’t worry boss, I’ve got my game face on now.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

After some discussion that Jaune and Pyrrha tried and failed to lipread, Nora took off. She disappeared further into the store. Not a moment later returned to Ren's side dragging a large pallet jack. It was loaded to capacity with cardboard boxes and wooden pallets. Nora opened the door and dragged their new belongings outside. Pyrrha quickly pulled Jaune into an alleyway so they didn’t get spotted.

“See you on Thursday for the next shipment Ren. Thanks for your continued patronage as always.” A female employee called out, waving to Nora.

“And thank you for always accommodating our strange requests.” They barely heard Ren reply.

Distant laughter was heard from the store. It seemed several of the workers were familiar with what was going on here.

“Who are we to judge if you guys go through enough flour, eggs, milk, and maple syrup to feed an army.” The employee said, trying not to laugh any more than she already had.

_Wait. Ren and Nora come out here to buy…_

“Pancake supplies?!” Pyrrha nearly yelled. “I’ve been observing them for weeks, and it’s just been Ren fueling her addiction to sugar?!”

“Does that mean that we’re done spying on them? I mean, with the rate Nora goes through Ren’s food, this can account for every trip they’ve gone on.” Jaune paused for a second before adding, "and then some."

“But… But that means we came all this way and it’s already over…” Pyrrha sighed dejectedly.

Jaune watched her steadily deflate. She had been unnaturally energetic, ecstatic even. But wasn't this a success? They had followed them without being caught and figured out the reason for their trips. Even if it wasn't one of her frankly ludicrous theories, it's no reason for this kind of reaction.

“We could always… Do what we said we came out to do?” Jaune suggested.

Pyrrha looked at him for a few seconds, visibly processing what he had just said.

“Are you asking me out on a date?”

“I mean… Technically, if we are going by the story you told them, you asked me on a date. And apparently, I already said yes. So this is just me keeping our alibi clean.”

When her face dropped, he couldn’t help but feel like he’d just kicked a puppy. That look wasn’t quite as powerful as what Ruby was capable of. He had seen Ruby completely brainwash her team members with one of her frowns. But it was enough to have Jaune immediately trying to rectify his mistake.

“It was a joke, I’m kidding, I’m sorry! Pyrrha would you like to go on a date with me today? Right now in fact?”

“Do you mean that?” she asked.

He could tell she was playing with him, revenge for his response from earlier. But the question did give him a reason to consider it properly. This was Pyrrha Nikos, his partner, and friend. But she was also a celebrity, genius-level tournament fighter, and all-around beauty. Somehow his elation at having friends and a team had blinded him to these facts. If they had met under other circumstances, he would probably have assumed she was way out of his league. But right now…

“Yeah, I do.”

**/-/**

“So why did we come to a post office? I’m no expert, but I was thinking maybe a movie? Or something to eat?” Jaune asked.

“Trust me. I was hoping to bring you here today one way or another, but this is too perfect. Wait here okay?”

Pyrrha headed inside, leaving him to wait outside. Enough time to try and work out what he was going to do today.

_Movies and food are pretty standard. The blacksmith isn’t exactly date material, but we are spending time together, so it should be fine. Maybe just some window shopping? It was so much easier with Yang, we just went dancing, but then I suppose that wasn’t a real date, was it._

“Jaune?”

Ripped from his thoughts, he realized that Pyrrha had returned. In her hands, she held a small parcel wrapped in brown paper.

“What have you got there?” he asked.

“It’s for you. Open it up.”

Jaune undid the ribbon carefully and unfolded the paper. He had no idea what was inside but it didn’t feel particularly solid. He didn’t want to break whatever it was.

“I heard from Ruby and Yang that it was your favorite.” She explained as he pulled the item out.

It was a hoodie. A perfect copy of the one he had taken to initiation and destroyed.

“You used it to create bandages to help me out. So I thought…”

“I love it!” Jaune exclaimed, already putting it on, “How did you get one? I had to send in like 50 cereal boxes to win mine. These are super limited!”

Pyrrha laughed at his reaction.

“Jaune, you’re not serious are you?”

“Of course I am! Who do you know that got you one of these?”

Her laughter grew even louder.

“Jaune, I’m kind of the mascot for Pumpkin Pete’s Marshmallow Flakes. Remember? It was the only way Weiss could get you to realize who I was. I had my meeting with my sponsors last week remember? All I had to do was ask and they shipped me one.”

“That’s amazing! You’re amazing! This, this is amazing! Thank you so much.”

“I’m glad you like it. I know Ruby and Yang made fun of you for wearing it. I was worried you might not have liked it as much as they implied you did.”

“I got to admit though, now I feel kind of bad. I don’t have anything this cool to give you in return.”

“Don’t worry about that, this didn’t cost me anything. Now come on, you can choose where we go next.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

**/-/**

“Here’s the place!” Jaune said, opening the door to let Pyrrha in.

Pyrrha entered and looked around. Just as it was last time, the walls were lined with countless displays of the man’s work. She approached several of the items, running a hand over them for a few seconds each.

“These are good.” She stated.

“I’m glad you think so Little Miss.” A deep voice responded.

Like the man had been frozen in time between his last visit and now, he looked the same. Still covered from head to toe in soot and ash.

“Hey! You remember me, right?” Jaune asked the smith.

The owner gave Jaune a good slap on the back.

“Of course I remember you, I remember all my favorite customers! Tell you what I don’t remember though. I don’t remember telling me that you were on a team with the Invincible Girl.”

Jaune looked at Pyrrha, she looked much less relaxed than she had a moment ago.

“Well… I didn’t know we were gonna end up on the same team. Hell, I didn’t even know who she was until the day. She was just another huntress.” Jaune laughed, “Still is. How did you know it was her anyway, she was kind of trying to stay out of the spotlight.”

“It might fool the majority, but any smith worth their salt would recognize her face anywhere. Let’s forget about all that though, what can I do for you both. I hope you’re not just sightseeing like last time, aye lad?”

“Not a chance. We finally got some money from a few jobs. I’m here to buy. What have you got?”

Pyrrha followed Jaune up to a counter. From under it, the man produced a white-coated steel breastplate.

“I had this one tuned up special, just in case you came back. I figured you were the honest type, so I wagered you would. The color should match your sword and shield nicely, and the steel is of better quality than most. The best part of this is that it’s a single piece from a modular suit of armor. You can come back and purchase as much or as little of the entire set as you want. This piece here will keep all your innards from becoming outtards. I’d recommend some pauldrons or vambraces afterward if you’ve got the cash.”

Jaune picked up the armor. It was heavy, but not ridiculously so. It looked like it would cover his torso from just below his collar bone to just above the bottom of his ribs. The straps would stop it from moving around while he fought but still left him with a lot of mobility. His arms especially were completely unrestrained by the piece.

“What do you think Pyrrha?” he asked, holding the breastplate in front of his chest, “Yay or nay?”

Pyrrha reached out and observed the piece, reminding him that he could do the same.

 **[Steel Breastplate]**   
Reduces damage taken when applicable by 50%   
Nullifies injuries up to a threshold.

It wasn’t a lot, but 50% could be a huge difference in a life or death situation. Even just improving the efficiency of his aura when taking shots to the chest would come in handy.

“It’s a good piece of beginner gear. Steel isn’t a perfect material, but considering your budget, I’d say it’s going to be great for you. As he said, you can always come back and get more, or even upgrade in the future.”

Jaune shot the owner a smile, “You heard the lady, how much for this?”

“That depends... You'll have to forgive me for shooting my shot. Little Miss, if you’d be willing to let me get a few words in writing, I’d be willing to cut your friend a deal.”

“Like an autograph?” Jaune asked

“He means he wants me to endorse his store. ‘The Invincible Girl recommends’ or something similar.”

The owner nodded.

“Oh,” Jaune responded. “Nah that’s not necessary. I’ll pay for this myself.”

“Jaune-” Pyrrha tried to say.

“This is supposed to be a day out for you, not business. This store has such great customer service that I'm sure we will be back again another day. Maybe if you feel like you want to, you might give this place a glowing review on that day.”

Taking the undisguised hint the owner spoke up, “My apologies Little Miss, I didn’t mean to intrude. You’ll have to forgive this old man for pushing his luck.”

“Jaune it’s-”

“It’s okay to say no Pyrrha. I’m sure this guy doesn’t mind right?” he looked to the owner who gave him a nod. “So how much do I owe you.”

“For you Laddie, 1500 Lien.”

Jaune pulled out the amount from his wallet. It didn’t drain him dry, he still had some funds to work with. Enough to get through the rest of this date most likely, but he would need to take on some work pretty soon. Handing it over, the man gave it a quick check and nodded to let him know that the transaction was completed.

“All yours. Anything else I can help you both with?” he asked.

“Nah, that’s it for today. But I’ll be back, don’t you worry about that.” Jaune replied with a smile. He wanted to let the man know that despite the way he had reacted, there were no hard feelings. The interaction between the owner and Pyrrha wasn't that big of a deal.

“I’m glad to hear it. You both enjoy yourselves, y’hear?”

The pair nodded and exited the store.

“You want to help me get into this thing?” Jaune asked.

With a sigh, she began helping Jaune pull the breastplate over his head.

“You just pull it on like you would a shirt, then adjust the straps. Taking it off is the same, loosen the straps and pull it over your head.” She tightened the straps for him, exampling how tight is tight enough.

“You know, you didn’t have to step in like that. I’m used to it.”

“Well… you shouldn’t have to be used to it. If they want you to speak for their business let them talk to your manager.” He paused, “You do have a manager right?”

Pyrrha laughed, “Yes Jaune, I do.”

Tightening the last strap, Jaune checked himself out in the reflection of the shop window. It was a perfect fit, a testament to the man's keen eye. The white had been exactly what he was hoping for too. As he pulled out Crocea Mors he noted that the smith had a keen eye for color as well as size, as it matched perfectly. The brightness and shine were perfect, not too reflective, and not too dull. Just right for real combat situations.

“So how do I look? Is my radiant new appearance making you swoon?” he jested.

“Sure, let’s go with that. My prince charming, or something.” She sarcastically responded.

They shared a laugh for a while, trading some back and forth banter. Jaune had taken the joke too far by calling her 'M'lady', causing them both to cringe. The fact he was literally a white knight didn't go missed by either of them. Much like he did with his hoodie, Jaune stood defiant in the face of mockery. He would defend the coolness of the fairy-tale knight aesthetic until he died.

Pyrrha had taken the lead while they talked and had led them to a small café.

“You hungry yet Jaune? I am.”

“Sure, I could eat. Have you been here before?”

She nodded, and walked past the outside seating, into the building itself.

“This place is one of my favorites. Do you know why?” she asked, taking a seat at one of the booths.

Jaune took a seat opposite her, picking up one of the menus to look for a hint.

“No, why?”

“Privacy curtains!” she giddily exclaimed, “You would not believe how much these tiny little pieces of fabric have done for me. You have no idea how hard it is to just enjoy a coffee or eat a burger. Not without being bothered by fans who want to wish me luck or ask for an autograph. When I put these up, it’s like I don’t even exist. They’re magical.”

Her positivity was contagious. Just watching her fawn over the simple pleasure triggered laughter.

The items on the menu were simple. Sandwiches and finger food, as well as hot or cold drinks. The price wasn’t super expensive either. Jaune decided he would try something sweet and ordered the cake of the day. Pyrrha on the other hand ordered a slice of vanilla cheesecake that she claimed was ‘the best thing in this town’.

“So Pyrrha, I’ve been wondering. What got you into the tournament fighting business in the first place? It seems like you aren’t a fan of the fame, and being a huntress doesn’t require it.”

“You want to know? It’s not a super exciting story or anything.” Jaune nodded, so she continued.

“Well, I suppose the answer was that it wasn’t that I intentionally involved myself with all of that. I have this class and the expectations were set for me to become ‘something’. I performed at a higher level than my peers from a young age, and my parents pushed me to find new challenges. They felt if I wasn’t challenged that I wouldn’t grow. I’d get bored and quit, and I suppose they were right. I never enjoyed training unless I had a rival I was training to surpass.”

Pyrrha accepted the food which had arrived, placing the plates between her and Jaune.

“I guess someone saw me sparring and offered me a chance to participate in a small local match. It was for pre-graduate combatants and I managed to win that. Then slowly I just climbed my way through the different tournaments until I became who I am. Eventually, we needed help funding the travel to all the different tournament locations. So we met with sponsors. Soon after that, we acquired managers to help deal with the paperwork. They of course pushed me toward more offers.”

Pyrrha stole a spoonful of Jaune’s cake while he was paying attention to her story. She interrupted any protests by continuing to tell it, forcing him to shut up and listen.

“All I really wanted to do was fight strong opponents and test myself. There were a few that came close too, they were always the most fun. But, I suppose you can guess from the name, I never did lose. Not in a one on one match anyway.”

Jaune considered the melancholy way she said that last part.

“Do you think anyone in our year could beat you? Everyone assumes you’re the strongest, I do too, but you’d know best.” He asked.

Pyrrha thought for a while, a small smile slowly forming.

“Ruby is an amazing talent. I’d love to have the chance to fight her when she becomes a bit more experienced. Blake and Weiss have some unique Semblances which could cause me some grief. I think if I tried to take on 2 members of team RWBY by myself, it would be a close fight.”

_A close fight? As in you think you could still win?_

“That’s team RWBY though. If the teachers put me up against team CRDL I could probably take all of them without more than a few scratches. They have no teamwork whatsoever, it’s such a shame. If they could get over themselves, I’d love to fight them for real.”

“What about our team, think you can take us on?” Jaune jokingly asked.

“I know you’re not serious, but I would honestly have more trouble fighting against the three of you than team CRDL. I couldn’t ignore Nora for even a second, if she got away the battlefield would be under her control. Ren’s ability to read her intentions is flawless too. They wouldn’t even need to speak to come up with some kind of combination play.”

“How about me?” Jaune asked, curious as to how she viewed his value in the fight.

“That depends. You’d either be a persistent distraction, or a great meat shield for me to use against Nora’s grenades. That would be down to luck and how well I could deal with everything else. Sorry.”

Jaune sighed.

“I suppose I can’t expect much more than that. One of these days though, I’m going to take you down, one on one. That’s an Arc promise.”

“I’ll be looking forward to that day then. But I’m not going to make it easy for you.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

**/-/**

After the café, Jaune had taken Pyrrha to the movies. They had sat through a terrible Spruce Willis film together. It was the usual B tier action that he was famous for, climaxing in a scene where he drove a car into a bullhead mid-flight. The absurdity of it had left them laughing loud enough to get kicked out of the theatre before the film ended.

Exiting the cinema they realized it was beginning to get dark. They would have to hurry and head back to the bullheads to catch a ride back to Beacon. Neither wanted to face the consequences of breaking their curfew.

“You got to ask a question earlier, so I want to ask you something now.” Said Pyrrha.

“That seems fair, go for it.” He responded.

“Well. I’ve got two questions actually, but I promise you can ask me one after to make us even. You’ve told me that you always wanted to be a hero. It seems like everything revolves around that for you. Your favorite color is white because you want to be a knight from the stories. You tried doing everything by yourself because you wanted to prove yourself. But despite your obvious drive, you turned up to initiation with no class, and no aura. How does that happen?”

“I mean, I suppose the short answer is bad luck. My parents refused to unlock my aura because they didn’t want to risk me attracting Grimm with it when I had no class. My class requirements were also stupidly hard to fulfill. I’d been training for years leading up to that point trying to find it. But I think you already pieced something about this together yourself.”

She nodded, “I guess I meant, what was it that made you want to be a hero so badly, despite that. What could make you risk your life as you did.”

“I guess I just felt like it was something I had to do. My entire family lineage was heroes and war veterans. I couldn’t accept that I was going to be the broken link in the chain. I felt like it was my-”

“Destiny.” Pyrrha finished his sentence. “I think I understand. You had worked your entire life towards becoming the hero like you so desperately wanted. The initiation’s inherent risks were just another step in that journey. It was something you had to do.”

“Yeah, that’s probably the best way of putting it. Though, it might have been stupid for me to do it that way. There were probably other options for me, I just took the fastest route. How about your other question?”

Pyrrha grabbed Jaune’s hand, pulling him to a stop.

“What happened during the mission while Ren and I were away. I'm really happy with what today became, don't get me wrong. But initially, it was just supposed to take your mind off things."

_That’s why she was acting so weird about Ren and Nora._

“But even though it was so clearly bothering you, you didn’t reach out to us. We waited for you to… But I didn’t want to wait anymore.”

He sighed, looking at her face so clearly displaying her concern. Her vivid green eyes stared back into his own, never once looking away.

“What if I'm not the person you think I am?" he asked.

Pyrrha merely waited for him to continue. It wasn’t a question that he had wanted an answer to, and she knew that.

“I found out on our last mission, that one of the guys we fought died. I cut him down without even thinking, he didn't even have aura.”

“Jaune, you saved my life that day. You know that right?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Then you know I would never think less of you for that. Nor would Ren or Nora. The fact that you’ve been so torn up about it is proof that you’re a good person. You didn’t take any joy in doing what you had to. You could have talked to us about this rather than dealing with it on your own again.”

Again he nodded, silently listening to the words he had needed to hear for a while.

“Did you speak with someone at least?”

“The headmaster helped me think it over this morning. He said that I’d have to come to terms with it because we would have to do it again. But I don’t know if I could. I still feel guilty for what his brother must have felt, even if he was a bad guy. I’m worried that I’ll freeze up if I have to do it again. I’m worried that as a result, I might fail you guys next time. I don’t want to kill if I don’t have to…”

“Then don’t,” Pyrrha stated.

The confusion must have shown on his face because Pyrrha cut him off from the question he was about to ask.

“If you don’t want to kill in self-defense, then become strong enough to take them down without killing them. Train and grow stronger until you’re in complete control of yourself. No matter the circumstances. Most importantly, start relying on us more. It won’t just be you out there fighting to survive next time. If you’re worried you’ll freeze up, then just try to remember that we’ll be right behind you, fearless leader.” Pyrrha emphasized the nickname with a laugh.

Jaune didn’t respond, not initially. With her hands still holding his own, and her eyes staring him down, he realized how close they had gotten. He turned away and continued their walk towards the docks.

“I think I like that idea.” He said.

Neither of them failed to notice the fact that he hadn’t let go of her hand.

“You still get to ask me one more question you know?” she mentioned as they walked.

Jaune tested his luck and tried changing the way their hands were intertwined. Locking his fingers with her own. When she allowed it and reciprocated the action, he felt confident enough to ask.

“Would you be willing to do this more often? The date I mean.”

“I think I would be.”


	15. School Days V

"Okay students, the Vytal Festival is swiftly approaching. It is for this reason that today's class, as I'm sure you're all aware, will be the last one for this semester. Therefore, I aim to make this lesson an important one. Today's class will reflect a situation you may face in the tournament. For those of you who aren't aware, there are 6 rounds. In the first, you will fight as teams of four. In the following two, you will fight in pairs with the partners you were assigned. This means potentially some of you may have to fight your team members, keep that in mind. Finally are 3 consecutive singles rounds to determine a single winner. We have been focusing on single's matches so far as they help you determine your basic combat skills. Today we will be holding 2 on 2 matches." Professor Goodwitch explained.

"Guess that means it's you and me Pyrrha. Who do you think they'll put us up against?" Jaune asked.

"Hmmm... I'm not sure. For training purposes, they couldn't put any of the weaker pairs against me. So most likely someone from team RWBY. But then again, they wouldn't want to outclass you too much." Pyrrha proposed, "No offense."

"None taken," he responded with a sigh.

"Up first, Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee versus Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark. Same rules as always. If your aura falls into the red, you are knocked out of bounds, or you surrender, you are out for this round. The first team to have both members eliminated loses."

Ruby and Weiss were standing dead center of the arena. Meanwhile, Dove and Sky were circling the girls. They clearly wanted to form a pincer maneuver. Each team was carefully watching the other, waiting for the match to start.

"Begin!" The professor shouted as an alarm signaled the beginning of the match.

Immediately Ruby yelled, "Ice Flower!"

Weiss summoned a glyph and Ruby fired 3 shots through it in Sky's direction. The bullets appeared to shine white when they exited the other side of the glyph. Sky managed to dodge the first bullet quite skilfully. Ruby's following shots were picked with the skill of a true gun specialist. She fired the next two in a way that wherever he dodged too would get him hit. To evade all these shots would require a more dexterous skill set than Sky had available to him. The second shot managed to land a glancing blow on his hip. Upon contact, the bullet exploded into a chunk of ice that locked up his waist and upper legs. It didn't do much damage, but it would slow him down.

With Sky temporarily disabled, Ruby and Weiss turned on the remaining opponent. Dove was a skilled fighter, there was no doubting that. In terms of fighting talent, he was probably the best in team CRDL. What he lacked was the sheer numbers to back up that talent. He consistently performed above average in classes. Unfortunately, dealing with Ruby and Weiss simultaneously was too tall an order. Ruby's scythe and the disruptive elemental barrage from Weiss overwhelmed him. His aura was depleted, and the process repeated on Sky to end the match.

"Match over! The winners are Ruby and Weiss from team RWBY. Very well done girls. Good use of dust to impede and debilitate your opponents rather than just relying on firepower. You have come up with an excellent combination attack. One that combines the unique properties of Ms. Schnee's dust with an accurate shot from Ms. Rose's rifle."

Ruby and Weiss nodded and the professor began speaking to their opponents.

"Hopefully you boys have learned that there is risk involved in a pincer attack. As you saw, when your opponent aims their force at one side of the pincer, the attack can fall apart. You are left separated and weaker than you would have been if you stuck together. It is best to use this strategy after confusing or weakening your enemy. That way they aren't able to respond as quickly with a counter."

The four students returned to their teams and Ms. Goodwitch gave everybody some time to think it over. A third of the class had been taken out of the pool of remaining students. Everybody left was trying to come up with strategies for their possible matchups.

"If we are up against Cardin and Russel, what should we do?" Ren asked his team.

"If it were me, I'd take out Russel first. He is fast, and not at all a bad fighter, but he lacks what Cardin has in skill and strength. I may not like the guy, but he is probably top 5 in terms of pure fighting skill." Jaune answered.

"So I break Russel's legs, and then Renny and I team up and spit roast Cardin." Nora innocently suggested.

"Why did you have to say it like that?" Jaune asked as the image sent a chill down his spine.

Ren merely shook his head.

"What about Blake and Yang? Cardin's pretty strong, but Yang is a powerhouse. Not to mention Blake is an assassin. If you take your eyes off her for a second to take care of Yang, she will take you out from behind." mentioned Pyrrha.

"If it's us, I say you take out Blake and I try to hold off Yang. If I don't activate her Semblance then I could earn you a few minutes at least." Jaune suggested. "Blake is way too fast for me to hold her down."

"The next match, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie versus Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush!"

"Good luck guys," said Jaune.

"I guess that means we get team RWBY then. I can't wait, are you excited?" Pyrrha asked with a sparkle in her eye.

"I don't know about excited, but I'll try my best," Jaune responded.

Ren, Nora, Cardin, and Russel took a position near the center of the ring. It seems that team CRDL won't be splitting up this time, not by choice at least.

The alarm sounded and the second it did, something unexpected happened.

Ren jumped up into the air, and at the same time, Nora swung her hammer with what appeared to be her maximum strength. Ren's feet planted themselves onto the surface of Nora's hammer. He was compacted into a shape like a cannonball, and he rocketed toward his opponents.

"Dashing Palm Strike!" He shouted.

His palm was homing in on the pair. With the rapid velocity he was traveling with, Cardin barely had the time to dodge.

His partner was not so lucky. Russel lagged a fraction of a second behind his leader and partner, wearing the full impact of the blow. His aura was depleted in an instant, taking him out of the fight.

"You're going to regret doing that." Cardin threatened.

Towering over Ren, Cardin swung his mace. Ren dexterously ducked and weaved around the strikes. When he couldn't dodge, he used his aura shielded palms to divert the strikes instead. With Nora racing toward the location, and Ren confidently holding his own, it looked like an easy win. Until the red gem in Cardin's mace began to glow.

As yet another swing narrowly passed Ren's face, a wave of fire was expelled from the mace. The force of the explosion blasted Ren into a backward roll across the ground.

"Your little girlfriend isn't the only one with a weapon that goes 'boom'." Cardin mocked as he approached the now prone Ren.

Nora moved to intercept, taking on Cardin's mace with her warhammer. They were evenly matched in strength and striking power. When they each activated the explosive power of their weapons, it was a different story. Jaune didn't know what the red crystal on Cardin's weapon was. What he did know, was that it was much more potent than the dust within Nora's grenades. The explosion pushed Nora backward and caught Ren as he tried to stand, sending him rolling.

"You can do it, guys!" Jaune encouraged.

"Spitroast him!" Pyrrha shouted, blushing red when the entire class looked at her in response. "Does that mean something other than what Nora said it meant?"

Ren got to his feet and began to circle Cardin. His power was able to overwhelm Nora in 1 on 1 combat. So staying beside Nora would result in him being taken out as collateral damage. Instead, Cardin's body served as an excellent shield against the explosive force. Every time Cardin and Nora traded blows her aura took a small but consistent hit. During this exchange, Ren was able to slip in while Cardin was distracted. He would land two or three swift blows to vulnerable unarmoured body parts. He was unable to take his attention away from Nora to deal with Ren, because each time he tried, Nora struck back.

The match continued in this way, with Nora slowly losing her aura and Cardin having his drained by Ren. When they both reached roughly half of their aura, Cardin changed the game.

"Coup de grace!" He spoke as he exchanged yet another blow.

Unlike all the other times, his blow blew straight through Nora's defenses. The following point-blank explosion caused even further damage. In a single exchange, Cardin managed to completely deplete Nora's aura. She was out of the fight.

"Nora!" Ren shouted out.

His muscles swelled, a sign he had activated his muscle augmentation. Normally, despite it being his technique, he didn't use it. It was too draining on his limited aura supplies to maintain. Now though, his regular inhibitions didn't exist.

Ren's dexterity was heightened beyond its already extreme point. Every time Cardin turned and swung, Ren managed to not only dodge but slip behind him. His arms were nothing more than blurs of green landing several debilitating blows. Cardin's aura was absorbing a lot of the kinetic energy. but his upper body was still being knocked around from the sheer force behind Ren's blows.

Cardin's aura was dropping steadily and none of his attacks were connecting. Ren's transformation from the quiet individual into this green beast was almost frightening. His relentless storm of attacks could be heard through the stands. Ren tanked his aura using this technique. But from the moment he became serious, until the fight's end, he didn't take a single blow.

"Match over! The winner is Lie Ren." Ms. Goodwitch stated.

"Ms. Valkyrie, your initial strategy was unorthodox but unexpectedly successful. I do not doubt that your opponents were as confused as the rest of us. It's quite impressive that you and your partner could come up with such a plan. Especially without any communication." the professor commended.

Ren looked away from the professor.

_I have a feeling there was no plan. Ren always has been able to mesh with Nora flawlessly._

“Mr. Winchester, considering your partner was taken out almost immediately, you performed admirably. Mr. Thrush, perhaps some reaction based training would serve you well. Such a direct frontal assault could have easily been thwarted if you both had have reacted in time.” Said the professor, earning a grunt of acknowledgment from the boys.

"Finally, Ren, your performance at the end there was very impressive. I haven't seen such enthusiasm from you so far this year, it was a pleasant change of pace. I would encourage you to try and summon more of that energy in the tournament itself."

Ren nodded, though his posture showed how tired the burst of activity had made him.

"We will now commence today's final match. Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos versus Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long!"

Jaune gathered himself, and together with Pyrrha, headed to the arena.

"Are you ready partner?" Pyrrha asked with a confident smile.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he responded. "So you take Blake while I try to hold off Yang right?"

"That's probably for the best, I'd struggle to take them both on. But if you have to choose between letting them come after me or dropping out of the match permanently. Disengage. I can deal with them for short bursts, but if you get knocked out I'll have to take them both for the rest of the match."

"Got it, no kamikaze plans, there goes plans A through E."

"Idiot."

Reaching the arena, Jaune drew his sword and shield. He had a few plans ready, just in case something went wrong. He tentatively awaited the start of the match.

"Ready for another beat down lover boy?" Yang taunted from the other side.

"That depends. Are you going to mind if I throw dirt in your hair again?"

Yang growled and her focus was firmly set on him.

_Step one: Aggro Yang. Check._

The alarm sounded and Yang instantly raced towards Jaune. In response, he was slowly back stepping away to the edge of the arena.

"Keep up Yang, I thought you were going to give me a beat down, not chase me like a schoolgirl with a crush." Jaune teased.

Her eyes flashed red. She probably wasn't used to being made fun of by someone who had never beaten her in a fight. She thrust her hands behind her and activated her shot-gauntlets. The action propelling her forwards. The action had been nothing more than proof that she was falling for his taunts. She was fast enough without that to catch Jaune who didn't dare turn and run properly.

Jaune blocked the first blow successfully. Fully absorbing the damage and impact with his shield. The second blow however blasted straight through his guard, leaving his ears ringing.

"Sorry, but my partner kind of wants to win this one. Can't afford to take it easy on you this time," said Yang as the smoke floated away from her gauntlets.

She leaped into action, bashing into his guard and firing shells as she did so. Despite her semblance being inactive, the blows still ate away at his aura. The power that her weapon gave her on top of her regular strength was enough to completely alter the fight. There would be no waiting it out and slowly raising his strength to match her Semblance. He had to defend now and defend properly.

"You can't hide behind that shield forever, fight back!" Yang taunted.

Pretending to fall for her taunts, Jaune doffed his shield and threw it at Yang's face. She slapped it to the ground beside her, leaving him time to sheathe his sword.

"Who's hiding? You haven't landed a real shot on me so far, what's there to hide from?" Jaune retorted.

Glancing toward the center of the arena where Pyrrha was, he saw the fight wasn't going perfectly. Blake was playing cautiously, while Pyrrha looked to be in a rush. Pyrrha was chasing Blake down and taking every opportunity to strike. This left Blake with plenty of opportunities to leave behind elemental clones. Already shattered ice and scorched earth was marking the arena grounds.

"Don't worry Pyrrha! Take your time! I've got this under control!" Jaune called out, throwing a smirk in Yang's direction.

"I'm going to make you eat those words," Yang growled.

Yang quickly closed the distance between them and unleashed a flurry of strikes. Her shots skillfully alternating between his head and his body, forcing him to keep his eyes wide open. Not a single one landed though, as the instant she came close Jaune boosted his dexterity to its limit. The heightened reaction speed allowed him to skilfully duck and weave her attacks. He was fighting like a budget copy of Ren's defensive style.

Yang had straight up told him that she didn't care for meditation once before. He took that as a reason to believe that she wouldn't have access to the same aura techniques that he and Ren did. He hoped that this meant that whatever her stats were at right now was all she was going to bring to the encounter.

As Jaune dodged her every blow Yang was getting more and more frustrated. This frustration caused her blows to miss by larger amounts as she telegraphed her shots. Her desire to hit her ever-so-smug opponent was holding her back. It was exactly what Jaune had wanted.

"Calm down Yang, he's winding you up on purpose. You know he has a bunny rabbit underneath that breastplate, don't let him fool you!" Blake shouted out as she once again disengaged from Pyrrha.

Yang's blind rush came to a sudden stop, her partner's advice taking immediate effect. Yang's left fist shot straight out from her shoulder with barely any sign she had been about to throw it. Jaune ducked to move underneath it, but as he did so her fist suddenly changed course. What had been a punch thrown at his face was merely a feint to set up the right hand which grabbed his hood.

"Got you Bunny Boy." she proudly declared, crowning him with a new nickname.

Jaune didn't have time to enhance his strength. Yang easily overpowered him and threw him onto the ground. Without delay, she followed him to the ground, assuming a full mount position.

"I bet you've been dreaming of this since we met hmm? A pretty little girl like me straddling your chest." She accented her lascivious comment with a wink.

He quite enjoyed this ongoing back on forth between them. There had never been any hard feelings after any of their matches despite what they each did. Unfortunately, Jaune didn't have much chance to respond with a witty comment of his own. This was because she had presented her verbal jab with a series of very real fists raining down on his face.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted as she ran over.

"Just deal with Blake, I've- Oof!" Yang interrupted his response with a blow to the gut, "Got this..."

"Yeah champ, he's got this. So you just stay over there and wait your turn." Yang yelled to Pyrrha, still pounding on Jaune's gut.

Despite both fighters calling out to have her focus on her fight, she still intervened to assist. Yang was forced to dismount as a familiar white shield flew through where her head was.

"Give me two more minutes, I've got the hang of these clones now." Pyrrha declared, earning a scoff from Blake.

Jaune quickly got to his feet and drew his sword. He wasted no time in engaging Yang. Two minutes was doable, but he couldn't take the defensive anymore. Yang had been initially thrown by his plan but was now at the top of her game. No amount of taunting or dodging would stop her from dealing damage.

So instead Jaune kept his range. With the length of his sword, he could strike at Yang without being in range of those deadly fists. Yang of course wanted no part in this and was steadily stealing ground.

"Look out!" Pyrrha shouted.

Jaune was operating on high alert and instantly reacted to whatever was coming his way. He spun around, leading with his sword in a perfect reverse spinning slash.

When his eyes met the wide-open yellow eyes of Blake, his whole body froze. Without any real thought, he instinctually pulled himself short of landing the blow. He was afraid of landing a full-strength attack on a living person.

Jaune managed to maintain his wits enough to raise his aura. Just in time to block the black katana which raked across his throat.

_That could have killed someone if they didn’t have aura._

The direct hit was by itself nearly enough to take him out of the match. When he stumbled backward into Yang's fist, he was blown out of the ring and drained of his aura to the red. The blow had shattered through his defense and would leave a nasty bruise.

Jaune rolled over and sat back up to watch the fight.

Blake and Yang made a hell of a pair. They'd known each other no longer than he and Pyrrha knew each other. But they moved in almost perfect sync. Pyrrha had, true to her word, gotten used to the timing of Blake's clones. But with Yang now in the mix, she had to split her attention. Yang's presence granted Blake the opportunity to slip between Pyrrha's expert guard. This distraction then allowed Yang to take some amazing shots at the champion.

Jaune thought this fight would be Pyrrha's first loss, a loss caused by his inability to hold his own. But he could see the signs that the champion hadn't given up yet. The determined look in her eyes and the brilliant smile was proof of that.

Slowly but steadily Pyrrha got faster. If the way her opponents recoiled after each exchange was anything to go by, she was getting stronger too. In the face of the increasingly stacked odds, she seemed to burn brighter than ever.

_Wow..._

Jaune watched on, completely engrossed in the fluid way she moved. His previous train of thought was completely overridden by the way she fought. Pyrrha could not read the future, but her trained reflexes were in full swing. She dodged every blow she could and deflected those she couldn't. In between her evasions she was landing thrusts with her spear. With nigh-impossible aim she would launch her shield, bouncing it off one of them. Using her free hand she would maneuver the other opponent into the optimal position. Despite their impressive teamwork, she almost had them fighting each other at points.

But every good thing has to come to an end eventually. She had lasted a full minute, dominating her peers, bringing them each close to the red. But at the end of that minute, she was even slower than she had been from the start. She did not surrender and even managed to land a few glancing blows. But the drawback of using that much power had left her tired and incapable of putting up a real fight. She was corralled to the edge and knocked out of bounds.

"Match over! The winners are Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long!" The professor called.

Yang made her way over to where Jaune was to help him up. Taking the offered hand he pulled himself to his feet.

"Thanks, good fight," he said.

"A few more years and you might even have a chance," she responded with a smile.

They both laughed. He really did enjoy sparring with Yang. She took it easy on him sure, but it was never out of pity. She just liked to fight, much like Pyrrha did. Her face almost shun with positivity.

"Well done Ms. Belladonna. Your decision and ability to change plans in the middle of your match was the key component in your win today. It was a smart idea to play to your strengths and waste as much of Ms. Nikos's time as possible. But it's now clear that Mr. Arc's defense is a harder shell to crack than expected." the professor stated.

Jaune felt a small glimmer of pride welling up at the passing compliment. It wasn't much, but a good defense is halfway to becoming a good warrior.

"Mr. Arc, if you could learn to attack as proficiently as you defend you would become a force to be reckoned with. You have been here for less than a semester, barely a few months. But in this time you have grown from the dead last to one who can hold their own against Ms. Xiao Long. Your use of psychological warfare and trickery is something to be proud of. In this battle, it was Ms. Nikos, not you who fell short today. Skilled though she is, able to hold off her opponent's as long as she did. It was she who failed to keep her opponent's attention."

The smile on Pyrrha's face didn't falter for even a second. She simply nodded, acknowledging the advice that was given.

"All our fights today have been exciting, even for me. Do not let this go to your heads, but each of you has a talent we as teachers do not get to see every year. I hope that you all work hard to hone that talent."

The whole class was positively vibing at the praise. From this professor in particular it meant a lot.

"With that said, the festival is approaching. The town will become much busier. Merchants and businessmen from all over Remnant are making their way here to prepare. Next semester your studies will be lessened until the tournament is over. This is to allow each of you to take on work and earn money for the festivities. You will even be authorized to take on your first away-mission. Your two week holiday shall be the perfect time for you all to take on private training, away from prying eyes. While you are free to do as you wish, know that the staff here are still available to assist you if need be. For now, though, you are dismissed."

As Ms. Goodwitch left, the rest of the class went about their own business. Team CRDL took off almost immediately. Cardin just barely audibly giving an apology to his partner for not being able to secure the win. Blake and Yang gave their farewells to Jaune and Pyrrha before catching up with the rest of their team. No doubt ready to be congratulated for their well-earned win.

Ren and Nora made their way down to where they were, as Pyrrha and he were engaged in conversation.

"Pyrrha it's fine! Even if I hadn’t frozen up, I would've just been taken out by Yang in another minute or so anyway."

"No it's not fine, I know you've been chasing your first win. That could have been it, but I made the wrong move. If I had have dodged forwards instead of backward... I could have cut off Blake from attacking you in the first place."

"And if I had of just been stronger, to begin with, we could have won regardless of which way you dodged." He waved to Nora and Ren who had arrived, "I'll get my first win when I deserve it, we have 4 years here so I'm not in any rush. If I was you, I'd be worried about losing that invincible status to me."

The competitive spirit within Pyrrha almost exploded through her facial expression. Nora's voice had no such restriction.

"When did you get so manly Jaune. You're normally so broody after a loss!" Nora exclaimed.

_Was I ever broody?_

"Sorry, but you were," Ren answered the question that he hadn't even asked. "You didn't need to ask."

"Stop reading my thoughts, Ren." Jaune laughed.

_He is way too perceptive, able to tell what I'm thinking based on my facial expression, or however he does it. In only a few months no less._

“So what should we do with our time off?” Nora asked, no doubt excited for the break from studies.

“Should we take on some work?” Ren asked.

“Training wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Pyrrha suggested.

Both were solid ideas. No doubt a bit of both would be the answer they settled on in the coming weeks. Jaune had something else in mind though. His performance in that fight had been skewed by his new habit of freezing up when landing stronger hits. Even when he logically understood he was fighting stronger opponents. Ones who had aura and the ability to take a few hits, he still couldn’t carry through. Only when hunting Grimm did he manage to complete the act.

This inhibition was holding him back in his training. Sparring with Pyrrha had become something that he almost wanted to avoid.

He didn’t of course, as any time spent with the girl was time that he enjoyed more than anything. But even then, forcing himself to face this new problem and failing over and over was causing a lot of stress. He was fortunate that he had Ren to practice aura skills with. Training his aura had swiftly become a way to relax in a place of training with his sword.

He had even recently begun experimenting with Aura Emission. The technique that Ren explained as ‘the entry-point to all great aura techniques’. He maintained his daily practice with aura control. Even managing to make some steady ground on the speed and accuracy with which he moved his aura. But this technique was proving to be elusive even with his increasing aptitude.

Ren learned the technique through leveling, as most every class does. This meant Ren hadn’t had a great way to teach him how to do it. He had expected Jaune to pick it up as easily and quickly as he had all other skills. But after several days of attempts, he was now wondering if there were limits to Jaune’s class.

In theory, all he had to do was separate a piece of his aura from himself, disconnect it from the main source. But this was easier said than done.

Jaune had tried stretching his aura further and further away from his body. The greater his control, the further he could push it, but it remained attached to him. Then he tried thinning and refining the line which connected the distant aura to his body. But despite his best efforts, a line no thicker than fishing wire remained. He had tried channeling his energy into a stone and throwing it. Only to have the aura dissipate instantly as it left his grasp, retreating into his body.

He still experimented daily but for less time each following day. Instead opting to focus where it was showing steady results.

The conversation between his teammates had progressed while he was in his head. They were negotiating a rule about not using their trump cards on missions. Somehow Nora had managed to get into Pyrrha's head. Triggering a small in-team-competition about who could do the best in the tournament. A competition he would no doubt be drawn into.

Their discussion was stopped cold when his scroll went off.

They watched and listened as he repeated ‘ahuh’ and ‘yep’ at high speeds, before putting his scroll away.

“What was that about?” Nora asked.

“We’ve got a mission.” He answered.

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 9**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 18 (45)**

**Fortitude: 25 (62)**

**Dexterity: 15 (37)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **???**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.

 **[Aura Control: Level 5]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 25%   
All Aura abilities are 50% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 3]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 13(19) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 3]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 13(19) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(225)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 3]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 70(105) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 1]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 11(16) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.5xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 5]**   
Aura Recovery Rate +150% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)  
** Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 30%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 3] (Passive)  
** Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 30%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 15%

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de** **grâce** **!]  
** A finishing blow to an injured opponent.  
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.  
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.  
Cooldown 3 seconds.  
Recharge 60 seconds.


	16. Caffeine I

“Rise and shine newbies!” An annoying voice yelled from beyond the walls of their dorm.

Jaune was getting dressed while trying to ignore the obnoxious pounding on his door. He already agreed to meet them at the cliffside at the agreed time. So why they felt the need to provide a wake-up call like this was beyond him.

“Don’t make me send in my goons. You won’t like it when I send in my goons.” The muffled voice shouted.

Jaune pulled open the door, ready to fire back his complaints.

“Jeez, we get- Oh my god!” Jaune screamed.

Standing in front of his doorway was the largest man he had seen in his life. His father was well built, and everyone in his family was tall. But whoever this guy was stood taller than the doorway itself, his face hidden from sight. All Jaune could see was a ridiculously muscular body and a sword that was just as big.

As if this man didn’t weigh several hundred pounds, Coco pushed him aside like it was nothing.

“Lucky I didn’t have to send in my goons aye?” She mocked.

The giant bent at the waist, pulling his head into view.

“Greetings, I am known as Yatsuhashi Daichi. It is a great honor to make your acquaintance.” He introduced.

_Talk about contrast. This guy is built like an Ursa, but he speaks more formally than Ren._

“You can call him Yatsu,” Coco added.

“That is not my-” Yatsu began.

“We all call him that because his name is way too hard to say. Isn’t that right Yatsu?”

He was silent for a few moments.

_I wonder why she feels so comfortable mocking him like that. He could probably tear her limb from limb._

Instead, the man stood back up and stepped away from the doorway.

“Indeed. I am often referred to as ‘Yatsu’ despite my preference. I would not be greatly offended if you were to continue this practice.”

Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora had all bunched up behind him, watching the spectacle in dumbstruck awe.

“Looks like the other newbies are taking too long. Bun-Bun, kick their door in.” Coco ordered.

“I dunno...” ‘Bun-Bun’ responded, “I don’t think we should be breaking school property.”

The girl was an athletic rabbit Faunus girl with brown hair. She spoke with an interesting accent that Jaune couldn’t quite place. Unlike her terrifying male friend, she wasn’t a giant and was pleasantly normal-sized. As a result, her class was visible, unobscured by the ceiling or doorway. She was the first non-combat class he had seen in Beacon, an Engineer. Jaune couldn't help but wonder what tricks she might have. For Jaune, who had seen success in learning from other classes, she was a potential goldmine. She had made it to her second year after all.

“If you won’t do it, I’ll do it. And I promise I’ll do a lot more than knock off the hinges if I do.” Said Coco.

“I’ll do it, no need for property damage. We struggle with cash enough as it is.” A new voice spoke from behind Yatsu.

A dark-skinned man made his way over to the door of the dorm opposite. His entire body was covered in scars.

_What the hell happened to leave him with so many scars?_

The scarred man placed his hand upon the door, and a second later, the whole building shook.

Screaming came from the other side. Almost immediately, the entirety of team RWBY made their way outside. They were dressed in just their sleepwear. Despite this, they looked ready to fight whatever was launching an all-out assault on the dorms.

“Good, everyone is here!” Coco happily announced. “Since some of you aren’t even dressed, I’ll give you 5 minutes. Get your gear and meet me at the cliffs.”

Team JNPR immediately got moving. None of them wanted to mess with this team of psychopaths any more than they had to.

“Did you see what he did Jaune?” Ren asked as they walked.

“No?” he answered.

“That was aura. He sent it through the walls and into the floor, creating a shockwave to vibrate their room and wake them up. He didn’t even use a skill or anything, that was pure aura control.” Ren explained.

“What? That can’t be possible, you can’t do something like that, can you?”

“It’s possible in theory, but he must have been training for years to reach that kind of potency and control. The fact he managed to transfer all that aura into their room without blowing holes in the wall is amazing.”

Ren was overflowing with emotion. He didn't get this excited over almost anything. Even lacking his friend's knowledge on the mechanics of aura, this proved that that was a big deal. The fact that Ren and that guy shared the same class probably played a big role in this. If Jaune met someone with the same Novice class who was capable of such feats he'd be excited too.

“How about the big guy?” Nora asked, “Did you see the size of his sword?”

Pyrrha nodded, “That sword probably weighs a tonne, I wouldn’t want to be a Grimm with him around.”

“Oh yeah?” Jaune said with a teasing tone, “So you don’t think you could take him then? He might be an opponent in the tournament you know?”

“Really?!” Pyrrha exclaimed, “How exciting, I wonder what his hits feel like!”

_Nothing new there. Of course, she would want to give it a try._

The team collected their combat gear, passing team RWBY on the way out. Based on the dark circles under each of their eyes, they hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

They made their way to the Cliffside where team CFVY was waiting for them. The two teams stuck to themselves until team RWBY arrived several minutes later.

“Okiedokie then. First things first, introductions. I already know the novice and the reaper, but other than that, no one knows each other. The big guy is Yatsu.” She gave the giant man a shove that threatened to knock him off the cliff’s edge when he tried to complain. “I’m Coco, leader of team CFVY, and this mission. The cute little bunny here is Velvet, say hi Velv.”

Velvet tried to say something but was immediately cut off by Coco, “Yeah yeah I didn’t ask for your life story. Finally, the one who looks like he played chicken with a woodchipper is Fox. We need some cheap labor – I mean – willing slaves- errr–"

She stopped to think for a moment, "Talented students who are willing to learn the values of teamwork? Yeah, that sounds good. We need some of those to help us clear an expedition. Our team is specialized in hunting strong individual Grimm. We want some help dealing with the horde.”

Team RWBY and JNPR shared a look.

_What are we getting ourselves into?_

“As your team leaders are aware we promised you a cut of the mission reward. This is on top of whatever regular extermination payment you earn. Just do what we say and you can earn yourselves some easy pocket money. If you’re really smart you might even learn a few things on the way.”

Coco took a few seconds to make sure her message got across. She isn’t particularly worried about this mission. But it was important for them to take it seriously and try to make the most of the opportunity.

“Since those two-" she gestured toward Pyrrha and Ren. "are practically drooling over Yatsu and Fox. Team JNPR is with them. I have experience dealing with the midget, so her team is with me and Bun-Bun. My word is law, but you can defer to them while we travel. Stay with your seniors and we will focus on keeping each other in distance. With that out of the way, let’s go.”

Coco then swiftly backstepped off the cliff.

_Not again_

Jaune followed her lead and the lead of the other members of team CFVY and jumped off the cliff. It was time to try that landing strategy again.

For a good few seconds, he was in free fall, completely out of control. But he had learned a little since the last time and managed to orient himself in the air. He had maybe a minute before he met the ground at this pace, so he needed to do whatever he could to slow himself down.

Jaune drew his sword from its sheathe. He tilted his body, allowing the air resistance to pull him closer to the cliff. Careful not to push himself away, he thrust his sword into the stone. The pull nearly wrenched his shoulder from its socket, but he managed to slow his descent. By taking measured jumps he was able to fall from one outcropping to another the rest of the way down.

He was much slower than the rest of them, but for his second attempt, he felt it was good enough.

“Zero style, as always.” Coco admonished.

Until she said that anyway.

The group split into two teams of 6 and made their way into the Emerald Forest.

As they traveled they were beset upon almost immediately by a host of Beowolves. Compared to what Jaune and the others had been through already, this was nothing. The pack was dispatched in an instant, team CFVY hadn’t even needed to step in.

“Is this what you meant about needing us to take out the horde?” Jaune asked the two older students.

“Indeed it is. You travel with the cost-efficient half of team CFVY. But even we do not specialize in fighting large numbers of weak Grimm. Strong I might be, but speed is not my talent, nor is working near others.” Yatsu responded.

“Isn’t teamwork important though? As second years I thought you guys would have gotten good at working together?” Pyrrha asked.

“You misunderstand. Our teamwork is acceptable, but we each work best with some distance between us. Observe.”

“Oh boy...” Fox muttered.

Yatsu took the lead, separating himself from the others. Not far enough that they couldn’t easily approach, but far enough to keep them safe from what happened next.

Yatsu drew his sword high above his head and brought it slamming down onto the earth. The ground fissured several meters in every direction from where he struck. Dust and other loose objects were sent into the air. He followed this up with a spinning slash that whipped the dust in the air around him at high speeds. The sound of his greatsword cutting through the air was loud enough to be heard by the other team.

“Show off!” Coco called from a distance away.

Yatsu returned to the group, “As you can see, my attacks are powerful, but they are also wide-sweeping and loud. The dust it creates would be problematic for my teammates too. Everyone except Fox of course.”

“Why wouldn’t it affect Fox?” Ren asked.

Before he could respond, Nora struck the ground with her war hammer. She created a much smaller and less impressive dust cloud of her own. Nora was strong, but if that was all she could create, then Yatsu must be incredibly strong.

“Because I’m blind, dust doesn’t mean anything to me. The noise is a bit annoying though.” Fox responded.

“What?” the four members of team JNPR simultaneously asked.

Upon closer inspection, Fox’s eyes were completely white with no iris or pupil to speak of.

“Then how do you fight? How do you even walk around this forest?” Ren asked.

Fox looked right at him, proving that he could perceive his surroundings.

“You’re a monk, same as me. How do you think I can see?”

“There’s no way... The amount of aura you must use just in your day to day life, and having to concentrate on fighting while keeping it up.”

“As impossible as it might seem, it’s true. I’ve had years of practicing this single skill every day and all day. Not to mention my aura control is always improving from my use of other techniques. I could keep it up all day if I wanted. I can’t see colors of course, but that’s something I’ve learned to accept.”

“What’s your maximum distance, it has to be something incredibly large, right?” Ren asked excitedly.

Jaune’s was barely over 1m at the moment, not that he planned on owning up to that around these two aura freaks.

“I’m just shy of 300m, but I usually only use a third of that.”

_300 meters? That’s so much!_

Ren and Fox chatted amongst themselves, discussing the different techniques they’ve learned. As it turns out, not every monk learns the same skills. Meanwhile, Pyrrha was striking up a conversation with Yatsu.

“How do you even get your strength that high? I’m more of a dexterity based fighter myself so I admit I've never focused on my strength. But I’ve never faced anyone in all my tournaments before now with that kind of striking power.” Pyrrha asked.

“Hard work is the only way. Even as huntsmen it becomes harder and harder to push our level forwards. The rate at which we learn skills slows to a crawl and the only way forward is to train. The truth is that most of my day is spent training my strength. When I’m not on missions like this or training with my team, you’ll find me in the gym.” Yatsu responded.

“Beacon has a gym?” Jaune asked

“Not exactly, it is our team's gym, we’ve put quite a bit of money from our missions towards it. You would be more than welcome to visit if you wish.”

Jaune would have responded but Coco called out to their group, telling them to gather up.

“Velvet has informed me that she has spotted signs of Deathstalker dens nearby. It’s not the worst kind of horde we could have faced, but we need to cut the chit-chat until we clear our way through. Now, do you all know what to expect with Deathstalker dens?” Coco asked.

“Deathstalkers?” Jaune hesitantly answered.

“Correct, but only technically. When it comes to dens, you won’t be facing fully grown Deathstalkers. You certainly won’t be facing any Ancient Deathstalkers. You’ll be dealing with Baby Deathstalker Swarms. Dog sized little nuisances in groups of about 15 or so. Ordinarily, one group of 1st-year students would be more than enough to take out a den. Unfortunately, Velvet seems to think that we will be facing several dens simultaneously. There is no telling how many we might face. Compared to their older cousins, their armor is weaker. You may even be able to take some out with your ranged ammunition. But unlike mommy and daddy, they are fast, and their poison is more potent. Under no circumstances do you let yourself get stung, understood? If you are stung, it will destroy your aura in seconds, no matter how tough you think you are.”

They all nodded.

“Good, now then. Pinky and Ice Queen-"

"Hey!" Weiss complained.

"will be our powerhouses, they have wide-ranged attacks that can take out the bulk of the Grimm. The rest of us are going to keep them safe while they collapse the dens and wipe out the horde. Once they start attacking, we will hold our ground as best we can, but if I say fall back we fall back.”

“Got it!” everyone simultaneously responded.

Jaune was impressed by how the girl commanded respect. She had this confidence that just oozed out of her at all times. It convinced you that she knew what she was doing, letting you follow her without care.

The group traveled a few minutes further into the woods before Velvet called the group to a stop. Blake seemed to stop at the same time, so it was likely one of their heightened senses that was alerting them.

Nora and Weiss took position a dozen feet behind the rest, their weapons ready to unleash hell. The rest took position upfront in a half-moon formation. Jaune had his shield up front, ready to block whatever came his way. It wasn’t about killing as many as he could, he just had to hold the line, and he was very confident in his ability to do that.

As if reading the group's readiness, the earth opened up before them. One hole at first, from which the Grimm poured out, but with the horde alerted, 5 more dens appeared.

As soon as they did Nora and Weiss did their best in blanketing the ground with explosives and fire. The dens were collapsed and several of the Deathstalkers wiped out. Within seconds though, more holes opened up, replacing the ones that were closed. From within them, Grimm continued to rush towards them. As more of them were wiped out, the corpses began to pile up. A blanket was formed that protected them from the barrage that had killed so many already.

They reached the front line, and just as Coco had said, their armor was weak. A single slash from Jaune’s blade was enough to cut it in two. Their strength wasn’t even close to getting through his guard either. Against the 10 trainee huntsmen and huntresses, they didn’t stand a chance. A few short and easy minutes of combat later, they finally had wiped out the Deathstalkers.

“Phew, that went well. Remember though newbies, that was a situation well catered to us. Don’t let it go to your head. Not every horde will be as weak to wide-spread attacks. Not to mention not every mission will let you take 8 extra fighters with you.” Coco instructed.

She was right too. The first expedition with the professor had been much harder than this. Beowolves and Ursa made for much tougher opponents. Nora’s grenades and Weiss’s dust hadn’t seen as much success there.

“Now, nobody got stung did they? I don’t want anybody trying to be brave and not telling the rest of us. You Blondie, lift that top and let me make sure.”

Jaune and Yang both went to lift their tops. Ruby, and surprisingly Blake, flustered and forced her to stop.

“I like the enthusiasm girly, but I meant the other Blondie.” Coco teased. “We all know you’re the weak link, take it off.”

“Okay, ouch,” Jaune responded to the verbal barb.

He lifted his hoodie, showing off his torso. He then scrunched up his sleeves and jeans to do the same for his arms and legs.

“Hmmm, okay fine. Had to make sure. Let’s keep going.”

“I’m sure she didn’t mean it like that.” Pyrrha encouraged.

“It’s fine,” Jaune replied.

With the horde wiped out, they didn’t have too much to deal with. The occasional Nevermore or pack of Beowolves had shown up. Each was dispatched swiftly enough to barely be worth a footnote.

What had been interesting was when Fox let the group know he had found the nightmare stone.

His aura awareness had let him spot tracks embedded in the earth a few hundred meters away. As they headed closer, he was able to provide more detailed information.

It seemed this nightmare stone was currently active and producing a second horde. The process was natural, its purpose was to replace the one they had just fought. But from what he said it wasn’t more Deathstalkers.

He called them Creeps. They were, like the Deathstalkers in that they are subterranean Grimm. They have two strong legs in the middle of a long body that was capped with a strong tail and powerful jaws. The guardian of this stone was an alpha variant of this species. It was covered in excessive bone plating and spikes, and much larger due to its guardian status.

“Should we help out with this one as well?” Ruby asked.

“Yep, we’ll need all of us for this one. Velvet, Fox, you’re with the newbies on pest control. Yatsu and I will take the big one. Stick to your teams and use your own strategies for this one, I’ll be too busy to give you direct commands. All I’ll say, is you’re about to see what makes us the coolest team in Beacon.”

Weapons at the ready, the group approached. Their presence instantly gathered the attention of the Creeps. The stone was releasing a black liquid, which quickly formed into yet another Creep.

“Let’s get to work, the longer we take the more that stone is going to make!” Jaune yelled, stirring his team into action.

Individually they were strong. They charged like Boarbatusks. Unlike them though, they were trying to close the distance to bite them with their powerful jaws.

Jaune was forced to enhance his strength to hold them off. Unfortunately, even with his enhanced strength, Jaune struggled to deal a lethal blow. Their hides were tough, even in places where they weren’t armored.

“Partner up! Nora, you’re with me! Ren, you’re with Pyrrha. Pyrrha, we’re on defense, strike where you can, but focus on letting Ren do the damage.” He quickly ordered.

Looking over at team RWBY’s efforts, they were doing about as well as expected. Yang and Ruby were having no difficulty whatsoever inflicting damage. Meanwhile, Weiss and Blake were running interference. Covering the ground in ice or leaving behind obstacles to distract the Grimm.

Jaune blocked a strike from a Creep nearby, allowing Nora to Heavy Strike it from a flanking position. The hit was enough to down the Grimm. A quick observation of the nightmare stone showed yet another Creep being created.

_I hope Coco can get this over with soon._

The area exploded with a sound of bone on steel.

“Shit! Is everyone okay?” Jaune shouted as he looked around. A hit like that couldn’t have been good.

Upon locating the source of the sound, Jaune was surprised to see Yatsu holding off the guardian. He had the flat side of his greatsword pressed against the plated face of the Alpha Creep. The sound was the result of Yatsu stopping the charge of the giant monster with a head-on collision.

“Hell yeah! Hold him their Yatsu!” Coco yelled as her minigun began to whirr.

_Wait, her minigun? Where was she keeping that?_

Rounds began to fly out the end of her weapon faster than even Ren’s machine pistols. She would burn through hundreds of rounds in a minute at the rate that thing chewed through bullets.

But that wasn’t all. The bullets themselves seemed faster as they exited the barrels. In the air, they seemed to appear larger and hit with more force.

Jaune back stepped and pinned down another Creep with his shield. The action temporarily dragging his attention away from the spectacle. Nora dispatched this one shortly after with another skill. While she was frozen Jaune intercepted another Creep from hitting her. He held it still long enough for her to regain control of her body. Before she could take out this next one, Fox came to assist.

“I got this one.” He calmly declared as he struck the side of the Grimm with his fist.

The Grimm was launched several meters back which was impressive in its own right. But when it swelled up and exploded, sending shards of bone into other nearby Grimm it was even more so.

Looking back over at Coco and Yatsu he saw the larger man had put away his sword and now held the Grimm with his bare hands. The Grimm was trying to back away and get out of the hailstorm of bullets that was chewing through its side. Yatsu held it in place, driving its face into the dirt.

“Let’s finish this!” Coco yelled with an expression of absolute ecstasy.

Her bullets fired even faster still. The motor on her weapon generating enough noise to have all the other Creeps charging. As mindless as they were, they had determined she was a clear threat.

“Time for you newbies to duck!” She shouted.

Jaune’s instincts kicked in. He didn't waste any time in responding to that recommendation. He hit the deck and not a second later bullets flew over his head. They carved through the Creeps they had been fighting like a hot knife through butter.

Whatever Grimm were left alive were dealing with missing limbs. For a two-legged no-armed creature, this was as good as dead. Nora and Yang were able to go around cleaning them up with no trouble.

In a single action, Coco had finished the guardian as well as cut through an entire horde of powerful Grimm. Yatsu followed up the slaughter with a strike that destroyed the stone.

With the fight now over, Ruby could no longer hold her excitement.

“What was that! Your weapon is so strong! How do you get your bullets to be that size, but so powerful? Is it a special blend of dust? What’s the recoil like? How long can you keep it up for? Is it expensive? Can I do that with my Crescent Rose?”

Her flurry of questions was ended by Coco putting her in a headlock, much to Ruby’s disapproval.

“Cool it hotshot, one question at a time. Though to answer most of those I guess I could just give one answer. It’s my Semblance, ‘Hype’. It lets me supercharge dust with my aura. Regular dust rounds become stronger and deal more damage. Meanwhile, my motor which is also powered by dust runs faster and fires the bullets at a higher rate. The longer I maintain my semblance, the stronger the effect gets. Give me enough time and there isn’t a Grimm I can’t take out.”

“So cool...” Ruby responded.

“So are we done here? That’s the mission complete, right?” Jaune asked.

“Sure is, let’s move out of here and collect our earnings. If I’m lucky I might have even made a profit after firing all those rounds.” Coco responded.

“If it’s so expensive, why don’t you try fighting differently?” Weiss asked, “I use a lot of dust, but I have my Myrtenaster to back me up.”

“We do, don’t get me wrong, but you also have to think about the cost of our time itself. Just hunting down the weak Grimm I can bludgeon to death isn’t going to help me train or get stronger. Not to mention Yatsu and Fox need a challenge too, their gear barely costs them a Lien to maintain. I can’t just do what works for me and Velvet.”

“What does Velvet have to do with this?” Blake asked.

“Did you see her use her weapon today?” Coco asked.

When Blake shook her head she added, “There’s a reason for that. But I won’t reveal all of Bun-Bun’s secrets. Not with the festival coming up.”

_Wait..._

“Did you invite us out here just to scope out what we are all capable of for the tournament?” Jaune asked.

“Jaune, don’t be so cynical, Coco is cool, of course, she-” said Ruby, before being interrupted.

“Yep, you got me. I don’t want to hear any complaints though. You lot made a killing off of this either way, and you got to scout us out in return. If we got more information out of this, then that’s your fault for not being more careful.” Coco answered.

The walk back to Beacon involved a lot less friendly banter. Teams JNPR and RWBY stewing over the battle of information gathering they had just lost.

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 11 [+2]**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 18 (45)**

**Fortitude: 25 (62)**

**Dexterity: 15 (37)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **???**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.

 **[Aura Control: Level 5]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 25%   
All Aura abilities are 50% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 3]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 13(19) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 3]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 13(19) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(225)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 3]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 70(105) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 1]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 11(16) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.5xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 5]**   
Aura Recovery Rate +150% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)  
** Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 30%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 3] (Passive)  
** Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 30%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 15%

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de** **grâce** **!]  
** A finishing blow to an injured opponent.  
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.  
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.  
Cooldown 3 seconds.  
Recharge 60 seconds.


	17. Volatile I

**[Your strength has been increased by 1]**

Jaune racked the bar that he had been lifting and sat up on the bench. For the last few days, he had been spending a lot of time at team CFVY’s gym.

Jaune had never had the opportunity to properly train at a gym like this. His father had always insisted that his training be consistent and daily. The recovery time needed after a real muscle training day would have made that difficult.

With aura though, it’s a different story. Not only is recovery time nearly non-existent. But training itself is that much more effective. Jaune can do a full-body workout, pushing his body to its limit over a few hours of strenuous lifting. Then a few hours later, he could, in theory, do it again. As long as he had aura, he could keep recovering and training, potentially multiple times a day.

After several stat increases on his first day he couldn't help but encourage his team to join him. Nora instantly signed on, ready to show off how she could bench press her weight fivefold. Pyrrha too accompanied him.

Nora was wearing pink everything, as usual. She ran out that very afternoon to buy a full outfit for training. A new headband, wristbands, and shorts as well as a T-shirt which all screamed 'Nora'.

She had a bar loaded with more weights than he thought possible hoisted on her shoulders. Not that she seemed to notice as she busted out squat after squat effortlessly.

Pyrrha had already owned training gear. She went for a much simpler look, a cropped red tank top, and some black shorts, as well as a gold headband and gold shoes. It matched her usual color scheme, but it didn’t quite scream ‘these clothes were made for me’ as Nora’s did.

Despite the spartan simplicity of her outfit, she made it work. Jaune caught himself stealing looks more than once today. It didn’t seem to matter what she was doing, she made it look impressive and elegant. Some might think that the sight of a woman curling her body weight would be a turn-off.

Jaune would strongly disagree.

After roughly a minute of 'resting', he motioned to get back under the bar. He still had a few sets left in him before he swapped exercises after all. Before he did though, his scroll started ringing.

Jaune dashed over and grabbed it, maybe Ren had seen the light and wanted to join him after all.

Checking the caller ID, he saw it was Ruby who was calling.

“Hel-” Jaune tried to say as he answered.

“Jaune! Have you seen Blake at all?” Ruby asked. The panic in her voice was palpable.

“Hey, Woah. What’s going on? I haven’t seen her, no, but what happened? You’re seriously freaking out.”

“She – Ugh… There was a fight, Blake and Weiss were arguing all day. Then she… said something she probably didn’t mean to, and now Weiss is furious and Blake is missing. She isn’t returning our texts or calls. I’m worried Jaune!”

“Okay, I got it…”

_Chances are it’s about what I think it’s about. I doubt she would get too upset over anything else._

“I’ll keep my eyes and ears open and if I find her, I’ll make sure she is safe, okay? Everything will work out, just keep doing what you’re doing.”

“Ok… thanks Jaune, you’re a good friend,” Ruby said, before hanging up.

Jaune called out to his teammates. “Guys, I’m done for today, I’ve got to take care of something. I’ll try to be back by tonight, but I might be out later than usual.”

“Okay… What are you up to?” Pyrrha asked.

_I suppose there’s no harm in letting them know some of the truth._

“Blake has gone missing, some argument in their team. Ruby was freaking out so I’m going to head out and try to help find her.”

“Well… Okay then. Good luck, and call us if you need us.”

“Will do,” Jaune said as he grabbed his things and returned to the dorm.

As he walked he tried calling Blake. Sure enough, the call went unanswered. Fortunately, Jaune had a bit more leverage than the others did.

“Blake, call me back within 5 minutes. If you don't I’m going to tell your team and the headmaster a bunch of stuff you don’t want them to know. How do you think they'll react knowing you told me before them?” He texted.

Not a second after the message had been sent his scroll started ringing. It was Blake.

_Gotcha_

“Don’t tell my team!” Blake instantly pleaded, skipping all formalities.

“I won’t, but you have to tell me where you are.”

“No. No way, you’ll tell my team and then they’ll come and-”

“I won’t tell your team.” Jaune interrupted, “I didn’t promise that I’d tell them where you were if I found you, but I promised I’d make sure you’re safe. So pick a place and I’ll meet you there in like 20 minutes, alone.”

“You promise you won’t tell?”

“I didn’t tell anyone about… well, you know what.”

Blake was quiet for a few moments, before she replied, “I’ll send you an address.”

She then promptly hung up.

Jaune quickly had a shower to clean off the sweat from his training, then raced out to get his gear. He didn’t think he would need it, but the city had it’s own threats late at night and he didn’t want to be under-prepared.

Blake had sent him the address while he was in the shower. Upon looking it up it appeared to be a café of some kind in the city. So Jaune got on the first Bullhead he could find and made his way there.

**/-/**

“Blake?” Jaune called out, walking into the building.

She hadn’t been visible from the outside. He wouldn’t put it past her to tell him something fake just to earn some time. Time to put some more distance between her and everyone else. He didn't know her well, but she'd run from the White Fang, and now her team. It was enough to make him suspicious of the possibility.

“You’re in the right place bro.” an unfamiliar voice called out.

Turning to look he didn’t see Blake, but he did spot a Faunus. He had blonde hair and a long tail tucked around his waist. He was dressed uniquely. A pair of light blue cargo pants and a button-up shirt that was completely unbuttoned. He held himself in a way only a huntsman could. The armored wrist bracers of course played into that image. He had spent enough time around people with training to start recognizing it in others. Whoever this was, wasn’t a civilian. With a class like Nomad, it wasn't clear what kind of training he had had though.

“Where’s Blake?” Jaune asked.

Jaune’s hand slipped to his sword, an action that didn’t go missed by the newcomer.

“Woah, chill. She didn’t tell me you were going to be so touchy. She’s around, just making sure you didn’t bring any company.”

Jaune narrowed his eyes. If he was lying, he was doing a very good job of it. Too confident, too casual for an ordinary person who was lying to someone on the edge like Jaune was.

“Who are you anyway?” Jaune asked.

“The name’s Sun. I found Blake by herself and freaking out, and so I thought, ‘Hey, us Faunus have to stick together’.” Sun answered

“How do you know she’s a Faunus? She doesn’t just tell everyone that.”

“Bro, seriously? Those ribbons don’t do as much as she thinks they do. I could tell from a glance when I ran past her the first time what she was. The fact she is cute might have had me looking a little closer though. You too don’t have a thing right? I don’t want to step on any toes.”

“Good to see you’re getting on with my stalker.” Blake dryly commented as she came downstairs.

“Stalker?” asked Jaune.

“I’m not a stalker, I just… You know… Followed her for a while. Nothing creepy about that.” He said with a smile.

Right…

“Well you’re here now, what did you want Jaune?” Blake asked.

“Ideally, I want you to go back and make up with your team.”

Seeing Blake cringe in response to that proposal he knew it was out of the question.

“But in failing that, I’m here to make sure you don’t do anything stupid. Ruby would be crushed if something happened to you. So I’ll stay with you until you’re ready, and maybe we could talk things out. We never got around to that right?”

Blake’s bow flattened to her head.

“No, we didn’t. Come upstairs, maybe it’s time we…” She looked at Sun, “All of us talked about this.”

The trio headed upstairs to a small table that already had some drinks out. There was even one for Jaune, though it was cold.

“Sure is a good thing you’re here bro! The whole time I’ve been tagging along she was just shooting me these weird looks”

Blake stared him down with a blank face.

“Yeah, like that one. Small talk is all I’ve gotten out of her. Now that you’re here, maybe she can start explaining what the actual problem is.”

Both boys looked at her and she rolled her eyes with a sigh.

“I guess that makes sense. Sun, are you familiar with the White Fang?”

“Of course! I doubt there is a Faunus on the planet who isn’t. Bunch of stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to take what they want. Bunch of total freaks, every one of them.” Sun responded.

Yikes

“I was… once a member of the White Fang.” Blake stated.

Sun choked on a mouthful of his drink, coughing it into his fist to avoid spraying Blake with the contents.

“’You’ were a member of the White Fang?” he asked, clearly shocked by the reveal.

Looking at Jaune who was not phased by the information he already knew he asked, “And you knew?”

Jaune nodded, not wanting to interrupt Blake by actually speaking.

“That’s right. I was a member for most of my life actually. You could almost say I was born into it.” Blake began to explain.

Jaune leaned forward, this was where he would finally hear the entirety of her story. Or more of it at the very least.

“Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between humans and the Faunus. Despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as the voice of our people. And I was there. I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I thought…. I actually thought we were making a difference… But I was just a youthful optimist…”

Blake’s face took on a more new expression. Just as serious, but more somber. More afraid.

“Five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking. Suddenly our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us. Hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor.”

_Like the Schnee Dust Company… Like that train._

“The worst part though? It was working. All of a sudden, we were being treated as equals. But not out of respect… out of fear. So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence. Instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a huntress. I’m a criminal, hiding in plain view. All with the help of a little black bow.”

Jaune wasn’t sure what question he wanted to ask first. She had spoken of the blood on her hands, he knew she felt guilty for something. Something more than she had touched on in her explanation for Sun.

“Have you told your friends any of this? Other than him I mean?” Sun asked.

Jaune had a feeling he knew the answer, so he responded for Blake as her eyes dropped to the table.

“I think she might have, and that’s the problem. What happened today Blake, what made you run.”

“It’s... it’s Weiss. She saw Sun running from the cops-” Sun meekly laughed, “and she instantly lumped him with the White Fang. All because he was a Faunus. Not to mention she had been so sure that it was the White Fang who was stealing all this dust.”

_I knew Weiss was prone to painting with a wide brush, but that sounds a little extreme, even for her._

“Sure, she might have had her reasons for hating the White Fang. But she made us all out to be these terrible monsters that can never be redeemed. She said we were 'pure evil' as if that even existed. I was so furious that I just snapped… and…” she trailed off.

“And you told them the truth.” Jaune finished.

She nodded.

“Why don’t you just talk to them about it then? You know, like actually talk about it. Let them know your side. You left that life behind, right?” Sun asked.

“It’s not that simple! I can’t believe that the White Fang is behind all these robberies. They’ve never needed that much dust before. I want to prove to Weiss that we weren't as bad as she thinks we are.”

“Blake, how much did the headmaster tell you about the mission I was on?” Jaune asked.

“Not much. I think he mentioned you’ve had run-ins with the White Fang or something.”

“It was supposed to be a regular extermination job. But we ran into 4 White Fang members trying to steal the cargo from a bunch of train carriages. Train carriages that belonged to the SDC and were loaded with dust. Blake, I don’t know what to tell you, but they very well could be the ones behind all the robberies.”

“No… Those carriages are… something else. Just trust me.”

“You can’t just explain how you know?”

“I’d rather not. I’d like some things to stay history if that’s okay.”

“But you’re determined to stick your nose into White Fang business?” Sun asked.

“We don’t know for sure it’s the White Fang!”

“But we don’t know that it isn’t. There’s no way to know.” Jaune countered.

“What if there was? Or at least, what if there was a way to prove they didn’t do it?” Sun started.

Blake and Jaune looked at him, waiting for him to explain himself.

“Well… If we go to the place where whoever is stealing this dust would most likely go to if they were to do it. And then we didn’t find them there but found someone else. Then wouldn’t that be proof that they didn’t do the other robberies too?”

“The only problem with that plan is that I have no idea where that would be. I know how they operate, to an extent. But I don’t know their plans.” Said Blake.

“Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a ‘huge’ shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas.”

“How huge?” Blake asked.

“’Huge’. Big Schnee Company freighter.”

“Blake. I just want to cut in here and remind you that the headmaster said our teams are potential targets here. We can’t just go getting involved with every single thing the White Fang gets up to. If you want to leave that part of you in the past, then leave it. You don’t have to prove that they didn’t do this, your team will understand without that. You left for a reason.” Said Jaune, trying to act as the voice of reason.

“We don’t have to get involved. Just sneak in there and take a peek. If it’s them, we leave, and if it’s not them, we still leave.” Sun suggested.

Blake hummed thoughtfully.

“You’re sure that this is where they’ll strike?” she asked.

Sun nodded.

“Just a peek then.”

**/-/**

It had been mid-afternoon when Jaune had met up with Blake. Now, as he sat on the roof of a warehouse scanning the environment for signs of activity, it was turning night.

“We’ve been here for a few hours, and nothing yet,” Jaune complained.

“We got here early so that we wouldn’t have to try and risk sneaking in while a robbery was going on. The White Fang uses every advantage they can get and one of them is the dark. All Faunus have great night vision, whereas the human guards do not. Not without equipment anyway, but this is a regular dock, so I doubt they’re that well prepared.” Blake explained.

“Fine. But if being here early is so important then how come he’s allowed to come and go as he pleases?”

“Because unlike you I don’t struggle to get up on this roof every time,” Sun responded, having just arrived. “I stole you guys some food.”

In his hands, he held a collection of fruits and baked goods.

“Do you always break the law without a second thought?” Blake asked.

“Yeah seriously, isn’t the fact we’re trespassing bad enough?” Jaune added.

“Please. She was in a cult and you killed a dude, this is like 5 Lien worth of food.” Sun countered.

Blake’s eyes narrowed and Jaune’s face screwed up.

Since they had had so much time to burn, they had gotten to talking. Much like Blake had, Jaune opened up about his experience. The presence of a stranger wasn't something he had expected when he had imagined this moment. But there was something to be said for the opinion of someone you don't know personally. Like seeing a psychologist, but without all of the clinical coldness. As it turned out, Sun hadn't had the easiest life either and showed no disapproval of his actions. Sympathy perhaps, for what he was feeling, but no judgment. Blake too expressed similar opinions. She had spent time with murderers and worse, she knew what they were like and how they felt after the act. From what she said, Jaune was nothing like that.

It was this conversation that Sun was referencing with his comment just now. Jaune didn't know in what world a few hours would be enough time to start cracking jokes.

Seeing the reaction of the pair, Sun placed his hands up defensively.

“Okay, too soon. My bad. So did I miss anything?”

Appreciating the swift change of subject, Jaune answered. “Nothing. The crates got offloaded from the boat but now they’re just sitting there.”

“Cool,” Sun responded, taking a bite out of an apple.

“You seem awful relaxed about this whole situation. I expected it from Blake, but you don’t seem the type.” Jaune mentioned idly, returning to his watch over the docks.

“Yeah, I guess I’m just thinking, we’re only here to observe. Unless we get seen by guards or something we aren’t in any trouble, and even then we will get a telling off at worst right?”

“I suppose.”

At that moment the sound of turbine engines suddenly became audible. From behind them, flying over the city was a large airship. With its spotlights, it scanned the loading bay. Eventually, it located the crate they had been watching. After the package had been spotted, the ship touched down nearby.

From within it, a man exited the vehicle wearing a vest with the White Fang symbol on it.

“Oh no,” Blake said.

“Is that them?” Sun asked.

Blake ran her hands over her face in disappointment, “Yes. It’s them.”

Several more members stepped out of the vehicle, each wearing the same uniform.

Distantly, Jaune could hear one of them barking orders. “Alright. Grab the tow cables.”

With this sentence, it was clear what they were here for. Despite how much she probably wanted to, Blake wouldn’t be able to deny that it was them. Not as they began gathering around the crates while they watched.

“You really didn’t think they were behind it, did you?” Sun asked.

“I think deep down I knew. I just didn’t want to be right.” She responded.

From within the airship, a familiar voice called out.

“Aye! What’s the holdup?”

The orange-haired man from the time he and Ruby had gotten to meet the headmaster stepped out of the vehicle. Jaune had come to learn the man’s name. Though he had been ignorant due to his status as a newcomer in town, it was hard not to learn the name Roman Torchwick. He was one of Vale’s most wanted, a criminal and thief.

“What part of giant loud airship says ‘inconspicuous’ to you guys? We need to get this shit packed up and we need to get out of here before someone intervenes. So why don’t you animals try to pick up the pace.” Roman shouted, before turning and saying something to another passenger on the airship.

“This isn’t right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that.” Blake stated.

She stood up on the rooftop and drew her sword.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Sun asked.

“Blake, no, don’t-” Jaune called, a fraction too late as she jumped off the roof.

Sun immediately followed her, while Jaune had to try and navigate his way down. He lacked the finesse in rooftop jumping that they both seemed to have mastered.

It took a few seconds longer, but he caught up to Sun who was watching from nearby. Blake had managed to sneak up behind Roman and currently held her katana to his throat.

“Nobody move!” Blake ordered.

Several of the White Fang members drew their guns and blades, pointing them at her.

“Easy there, little lady.” Roman quietly suggested.

With her free hand, Blake tore off her ribbon, throwing it to the wind.

“Brothers of the White Fang. Why are you aiding this scum?”

The grunts lowered their weapons, looking around to work out what was going on.

With the confidence unfitting of a man held hostage, Roman responded.

“Oh kid, didn’t you get the memo. The White Fang and I are going in on a joint venture. Mutual benefit and all that.”

“Tell me what it is, or I’ll put an end to your ‘little operation’.”

From the airship, a new voice called out. When he spoke, Blake froze.

“Oh, Blake. How I missed your innocent naivety.”

A tall man with auburn hair stepped out of the vehicle. He strutted up to where the conversation was happening, and all of the White Fang moved out of his way as he did so.

Jaune wasn't sure how Blake hadn't noticed, but Roman was moving his weapon to point behind him. With a click he activated it, causing an explosion to knock Blake off of him, allowing him to move away to safety.

“You bastard!” The red-haired man shouted, “She is mine, do you hear me?! Nobody touches her unless I give the word! Nobody but me!”

Blake rolled to her feet but stumbled as if her legs weren’t obeying her orders anymore.

“Adam…” she weakly muttered.

Seeing Blake’s reaction, Jaune whispered to Sun, “We have to get her out of here now. Whatever is going on here is not good.”

_I’m going to regret saying this._

“You get her up and out of here, I’ll hold them off,” Jaune added.

“Are you sure you can?” Sun asked.

“Now!” Jaune ordered, leaving no room for discussion as he ran out to block Adam from Blake.

“Oho? You’ve brought friends with you, have you, Blake? I suppose you thought that running to Beacon and surrounding yourself with allies would keep you safe.” He calmly asked.

Sun ran up to Blake and pulled her to her feet, pulling her away as fast as he could.

“No…” Blake muttered, “He’ll kill him.”

“Sun, I said to get her out of here! Now!” Jaune shouted.

“Hahahahaha that’s right Blake, run away again. You’re so very good at it after all. Just know, that you’re right. I am going to kill him, not before torturing him of course.” Adam taunted.

“You think I’m going to let-” Jaune countered before all of a sudden he was on his back with the wind knocked out of his lungs.

Jaune tried to get back to his feet but found himself firmly pinned to the ground. It was then that he felt the sensation of his aura being drained. This guy was digging his katana, a red clone of Blake’s into his shoulder.

“I don’t think you have much of a say in how this goes at all human!” he spat, stomping on Jaune’s chest and continuing to press the blade against his aura.

“Jaune!” Blake screamed, “Sun do something, we have to do something!”

“If you want to do something, Blake, you could always come with me quietly. If you do that I could be persuaded to let your friend live.”

“Sun! Get her out of here damn it. Pick her up and run, get out of here, do something!” Jaune shouted, groaning as the pressure only grew as he spoke.

Sun pressed his hands together and summoned what appeared to be two golden clones of himself. They raced toward Adam, drawing weapons that Jaune didn’t know he had. The pain in his shoulder subsided momentarily.

In a second, the clones that Sun had sent to rescue him were dispatched. A single blow cleaving through the both of them and their illusionary weapons.

The sword found its way back onto Jaune’s body, this time digging into the flesh below his ribs. His aura held it at bay, but he had to do something and fast. Jaune slammed his shield into the sword, knocking it away and attempted to scramble to his feet. He received a boot to his gut for his efforts, sending him rolling over to where Sun and Blake were.

“Oh, Blake. I gave you a chance to come over nicely. Your friends here even gave you a chance to run. Now you’re going to have to sit there and watch while I kill them. Hold her down, make sure she keeps her eyes open.” He said, giving the order to his men.

“Sun, I hope you’re a good fighter. Because I’m going to need your help with something.” Said Jaune.

“What, say it Bro and I’ve got you.”

“I need you to take care of Roman and the grunts while I try to keep this guy busy.”

“Jaune, you can’t. Nothing you can do will stop this. He’s too strong. Sun please, take Jaune and get out of here, he won’t kill me.” Blake begged as several armed goons approached.

“Sun,” Jaune warned.

“No can do Blake, you can beat me up for it when we get out of here. I hope this plan of yours works Jaune.”

_So do I._

Jaune broke into a sprint towards the airship and the cargo it had come for.

“You dirty animals think you can win? I’ve killed one of you before, I’ll do it again.” Jaune taunted, bringing out his best impression of a racist that he could.

“Well? I thought dogs were supposed to be loyal? Or are you just a bunch of feral freaks, too busy rutting and biting the hands that feed you.” He shouted.

Everyone except Roman growled in response to the provocation. They raised their weapons and motioned to fire at him, but Adam ordered them to deal with Blake.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you. I would have enjoyed it anyway, but this is going to be absolutely cathartic.” Adam responded, calmly making his way over to where Jaune was running.

Jaune didn't know whether he was lucky or a genius. His plan was working either way. By insulting them as he had, he had earned enough time to make it to the Schnee company crate. Jaune hacked into it with his sword. From within it, several dust crystals fell out. Looking inside, Jaune could see the box was loaded with them.

_Perfect._

One after another he began lobbing these at Adam as he approached, activating them with aura. He didn’t know exactly how it worked, but he knew that aura and dust is the exact combination that makes explosions. Unfortunately, he didn’t spot any dust powder, as it was even more volatile, as Ruby could attest to.

Adam calmly sidestepped and dodged the small dust explosions.

“I don’t know what you thought you were going to accomplish with this little plan. But it’s clear you have no idea what you’re doing. We kill Schnee guards all the time, you think we don’t know how to deal with some pathetic little dust explosions?” Adam taunted as he finally made it within striking distance of Jaune.

Looking past Adam’s shoulder he saw that Sun had managed to take out a few of the White Fang members already. Together with Blake, they had taken the fight to Roman.

_Good, they’ve got a chance of getting out of this. If they both get out of this alive, then what I'm about to do will be worth it._

“You want to know what I was planning?” Jaune smiled as he thrust his hand into the crate and pulled his shield close to his body. “This.”

Jaune activated the dust within the crate, as much as he could as fast as possible. The resulting chain explosion caught both Adam and Jaune, as well as the airship they had come in on.

An entire crates worth of dust exploded at near point-blank was an experience that was hard to describe. A searing heat, a punch in the gut, then nothing.

He couldn’t hear, his whole body felt numb. He expected pain but it never came. The shock to his system stopping any sensations from making their way through. But unfortunately, that small mercy came to an end. His entire body felt like it was on fire. Not just his skin, but the muscle and fat beneath that boiled, his lungs burned. Everything hurt and he couldn’t even will himself to scream in pain.

“That. Hurt.” Adam groaned, barely audible through the ringing in Jaune’s ears.

The pair had been knocked far away from the scene, leaving the two alone with each other. Through fried and barely open eyes he looked at the man. His clothes were singed and he looked like he was hurting. Unfortunately, it appeared that his aura had helped him take the brunt of the explosion. Compared to Jaune who was weakened earlier, Adam was completely fresh. Not to mention the years of training he must have had to strengthen his aura too.

Adam limped over to Jaune and grabbed him by the neck. He began to drag him back to where the others were.

“Not as stupid as you look, I should’ve seen through an act like that. My team had said you were weak but lucky. They never mentioned how clever you could be. A mistake that I won’t need to worry about making again.” Said Adam, mainly to himself.

Jaune tried to wheeze out something, but the words wouldn’t come. Adam seemed to know what he was trying to say though.

“Yeah, that’s right. My team. You killed one of my men. I sent them in there to kill as many of you little runts as possible. I’ll take great pleasure in the fact that your little interferences end here.”

Jaune was dragged back to the center of the docks. Blake and Sun had managed to take out the remaining White Fang grunts. Unfortunately, against a trained adult, like Roman, even together they were struggling. Roman had managed to separate them by blasting a shipping container off its wires. The resulting wreckage crashed into the ground, creating a wall between them. He had Sun at his mercy, weapon aimed at the boy as he got back to his feet.

“Hey!” A voice called out.

_I know that voice._

Straining to look up as Adam held him by the neck he saw Ruby and another girl on the rooftop across from him.

“Red! Isn’t it past your bedtime?” Roman mocked.

“Don’t play with them, Roman. We don’t have transport out of here anymore. Kill them all and make sure Blake doesn't get away.” Adam ordered.

“As for this one…” Adam loudly mentioned, throwing Jaune onto the ground.

“Jaune!” Blake and Ruby both cried out.

“This one needs to suffer a little bit first!”

Adam thrust his sword into Jaune's shoulder, moving the blade around through his flesh. There was no aura left to keep him safe and so his blood began to flow freely from the new wound.

Barely retaining consciousness he could hear the sound of a girl, “I’m combat ready!”

Jaune was slipping in and out of consciousness. His willpower was whittled down by the consistent agony he was in. It was a struggle to stay awake. A struggle that Jaune could so easily give in to. He wanted to just shut his eyes, if only for a moment. Keeping them open was such a strain. So he did.

He was woken by the sound of something vibrating. Neon green light radiated through his eyelids. Next, he felt an explosion, a large one, off in the distance. It brought him back from the depths of his mind.

“Don’t worry Jaune, you’re going to be okay.” He heard someone say.

He felt the hands grab his body and carry him somewhere. He hadn’t the slightest clue where.

“You can’t keep running away Blake.” He heard that damn voice say. How Jaune hated the sound of that voice.

“All this blood, it’s on your hands. Every life I take will be your fault. Until you come back to me, people will die every single day. I will tear this city to its knees, I promise you that.”

Whatever response she had made, he didn’t hear. Because the next thing he noticed was the sound of beeping. A vaguely familiar white light irritated his eyes.

“He’s waking up!” A female voice excitedly declared.

Her voice hadn’t been loud, he didn’t think, but the ringing in his ears after her exclamation sure was.

“Too loud…” Jaune complained.

He brought his hands up to partially cover his eyes from the light, “Too bright too…”

In response to his complaints, the lights were dimmed. The change allowed him to look around the room and actually see.

Blake, Ruby, and his entire team were here. Ren and Nora both wore serious expressions on their faces, they weren’t happy. Worse was the fact that it looked like Blake had been crying.

“What’s wrong with Blake?” he asked.

“You idiot,” Pyrrha responded, careful not to raise her voice. Not that she’d needed to, to make her frustrations evident.

“Jaune, Why did you do that. I told you he would kill you, he nearly did!” Blake asked, grabbing onto his hand.

The sensation when she touched him was like hooks being dragged across his skin. He flinched from the contact and groaned.

As Blake jumped backward an older voice spoke out, “The burns he suffered haven’t healed yet. They probably won’t for a good while yet. Until they do, he will suffer hyper-sensitivity. I would advise against touching him where possible.”

“I… I’m sorry,” Blake said, as she stood up and moved out of the room.

“Blake…” Jaune tried to call to stop her, “Ruby, go make sure she is okay.”

“What about you? I want to make sure you’re okay,” Ruby replied.

“We can take care of that.” Ren offered.

“We will keep you updated, but our stupid leader will worry too much if you don’t go. He seems to have a habit of putting other’s lives before his own.” Pyrrha added.

Ruby looked between the four members of Team JNPR before nodding and taking her leave.

“Sorry. I guess you guys are pretty mad at me then, huh?” Jaune apologized.

“Pretty mad? Jaune, you promised you would stop doing things on your own. You promised you’d rely on us when stuff got dangerous.” Said Pyrrha.

Ren and Nora nodded in agreement.

“And I meant that. It wasn’t supposed to go this way. We were just supposed to observe, then leave. We…”

_Blake ran out and dragged us into it._

“We were spotted and had to try and get away,” Jaune explained, offering a half-truth in place of telling them what Blake had done.

“So you thought the best way to get away was to set off a dust explosion in your face? How stupid are you!” Pyrrha shouted.

“Ouch.” He responded to the attack on both his feelings and his ears. “You guys may not believe me. But it seriously was our best move. He was White Fang, the leader even, maybe. I knew he would go for me, and I knew I couldn’t beat him in a straight fight. I thought maybe my aura would protect me more than his would. I didn’t think he would be so strong.”

“’You didn’t think’ is right.” Pyrrha fumed.

Ren stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder, “Maybe we should be looking on the bright side. He is alive, he saved the lives of our friends, and his injuries will heal. As stupid-”

_Ow._

“As he is, he made the best of what sounds like a very bad situation.”

“It wasn’t good enough,” Pyrrha said.

Jaune thought on that for a moment. She was right of course, it wasn’t good enough. He wasn’t good enough. At the rate he was going, the next time something like this happened, he might not be so lucky.

Jaune sat up in his bed, struggling against the tightness of his skin and the ache in his muscles. As the sheets fell off of him, they rubbed against his skin, igniting his nerves.

“Jauney, stop! The doctor said you’re not going to be healed in a while.” Nora said, rushing forward to try and hold him down.

“I’ll live! Pyrrha’s right, I wasn’t good enough tonight. I’m going to go make amends to that right now.”

He struggled against Nora’s efforts to keep him down for a short while.

“I’m going to go see the headmaster, I know what I have to do.” He said, hoping the explanation would get them to release him.

“What you’re going to do is sleep,” Pyrrha said.

Before he could debate this, she struck him in the back of the head with a knife-hand strike. In his weakened state without aura, it knocked him out instantly.

**/-/**

Jaune awoke again to a room that still had its lights dimmed. Cracking open his eyes he realized that unlike last time, there was only one person in the room with him.

“I was told you wished to speak with me, Mr. Arc.” The figure said.

“Professor Ozpin?” Jaune asked.

“Indeed. Your teammates contacted me and requested I stay beside your bed. No doubt an effort to try and stop you from ignoring all common sense and medical advice. There is much to be said for your determination to achieve a goal. There is unfortunately even more to say about your stubbornness. Your team is not happy with you Mr. Arc, and for that matter, neither is Ms. Goodwitch. She had to take care of my paperwork for me in my absence.”

“That explains… Pretty much all my initial questions.” Jaune responded.

“Perhaps it would be time for you to take a turn explaining for me then. What could be so important that you would risk prolonging your recovery as you did?”

Jaune contemplated quietly, he knew what he wanted to ask, but he likely only had one shot at this. The professor may not respond favorably to a direct question, so Jaune led into it.

“Have you ever had a student die under your care, sir?”

The professor didn’t look at all shocked by the sudden interest in his history. He never looked shocked at anything.

“Yes, I have. Students, friends, family, and even strangers. I remember them all.”

“If you could have done things differently... If you could have saved them without having to trade the lives of others, would you?”

“In a heartbeat Mr. Arc, but why don’t you simply ask what you want to ask.” He suggested.

_Alright then._

“I want you to take me as your apprentice. This is the favor from the staff that I want. Use everything in your power to make me stronger, teach me everything you know. Give me the strength I need to protect my friends. Let me keep your students safe.” Jaune requested.

“Mr.-”

“Before you answer!” Jaune interrupted, “I don’t care what it will cost me. I’ll work and train harder than any student you’ve had before. I’ll spill blood, my own or others to do what I need to to keep my friends safe. Whatever the price, I’ll pay it.”

The professor waited to make sure Jaune was finished.

“Mr. Arc, are you sure that this is what you want? If you were to continue on your current path, you would become a perfectly adequate huntsman. Even with what little training you've had, you have performed admirably. You managed to weaken an opponent so far out of your league and keep your friends from harm.”

“It’s not good enough. I know it, my partner knows it. I need every advantage I can get, so with respect sir, I need to know your answer.”

“Yes.” The professor answered.

Jaune was silent, he had expected a long answer or a dismissal. When the pin dropped, he sat up out of the bed, sending waves of pain through his body.

“Really? I didn’t… I thought…”

“What, thought you weren’t good enough? I've been quite open as to what I think of your potential. You came to my school without any real training or qualifications, and before you ask, yes of course we knew. You came here, and within a few months, you proved yourself over and over again. Even if you lacked your potential for combat and leadership, your heart is a good enough reason for me to accept.”

Jaune’s jaw dropped as the professor spoke.

“I believe I told you when we last spoke. Your actions in initiation saved the lives of three of my students. Last night you saved another, not to mention a student from another school. So yes, I will take you as my apprentice, and as long as you do not quit, I will… What was it you said? Use everything in my power to make you stronger and teach you everything I know."

The professor smirked. Jaune's impression of a fish trying to breathe was quite humorous after all.

"For now, however, as your master, I’m ordering you to rest and recover from your injuries. Your training will begin when you are fit and ready again.”

The professor stood from his seat and began to leave the room. Jaune couldn’t hold back the tears of joy.

Through the knot in his throat, he choked out his reply.

“I won’t let you down sir!”


	18. Recovery I

“No physical training of any kind. No using your aura for anything other than recovery. No pushing your aura below 50%. You will keep that sling on as much as possible, you will not open that wound in your shoulder. You will not be back in here until at least next month. Do I make myself clear?” the doctor sternly asked.

“Yes?” Jaune unconvincingly responded.

“Then, I guess you are free to leave. I’m serious though Mr. Arc, your aura has only just returned and started healing the deep-seated injuries. Give yourself at least a week from any real training, and definitely no sparring.”

Jaune pulled his free arm through the sleeve of his hoodie. Try as he might, it was hard to ignore the itching of the fabric rubbing against his skin.

“I promise not to do any training that would risk my recovery.” He dutifully replied.

“See to it that you don’t, now get out of here kid.” the doctor said as he shooed him out of the room.

Jaune was more than happy to hurry outside. He had spent almost a week confined to that room. Half of which he was restricted to bed rest. It was shocking to him how long he had spent recovering, even compared to the last time.

Unlike the time before, his aura was sluggish in regenerating. Without the excess aura, his body was forced to recover at a pace similar to an ordinary civilian. Normally eight hours of rest would be enough to restore his aura reserves. But even now, a week later, his aura was only crawling past the 70% mark. He had tried meditation but found it impossible to concentrate. Even sleep was hard to come by, usually no more than an hour at a time. This as it turned out was the reason for his slow recovery.

Aura restoration was linked to one's mental state. If you were calm and relaxed your soul generated aura smoothly. But when in pain and stressed, it struggled to generate any.

Jaune had been so frustrated that he inquired about the existence of something akin to an aura transfer. Sadly, nothing of the sort existed.

Fortunately, even in the state he’d been in, he had still generated some aura as he rested. Slowly but surely, his recovery progressed and accelerated. As his health improved, his discomforts got more manageable. Through this, his aura flowed more freely, feeding into his recovery.

In Jaune's opinion, his recovery would have been faster if they had turned off some of the machines in that room. That incessant beeping noise had begun driving him mad after the third day. Thankfully, his friends’ visits usually made enough commotion to drown out the noise.

Jaune decided that since he was free, he should let them know as soon as possible.

“Finally got permission to leave. Where are you?” He texted his partner.

A few minutes later he got a reply.

“Blake didn’t tell you? Ren, Nora, and I went out to Vale with team RWBY.”

“No she didn’t, I’ll see you all when you get back then.” He texted back.

Blake had certainly been a surprisingly consistent presence this last week. She had visited at least once a day while he was stuck in there. More if she could manage it without being dragged away by her team.

Her small acts of kindness had made the time much easier to tolerate. She brought him real food to replace the porridge he was living on. She talked a lot. More than he had expected from the girl who was usually the quiet listening type. When she was around there was rarely a moment of silence. Even when she had brought books for him to read, she spent more time talking about them, than reading them.

It was something he was incredibly grateful for. All that time spent in the same room was mind-numbing. He had needed the interaction to keep his brain from turning to mush. He promised himself that he would thank her for visiting so much when he got the chance.

When Jaune thought about it though, he didn’t know when they would be back. Nor what he would do with all the spare time he suddenly had to himself. For the last few minutes, he had been idly walking around the school grounds.

“Arc.”

Jaune turned to see who had called his name. It was not something anyone usually called him. The staff members all politely used Mr. Arc, while his friends all called him Jaune.

“Cardin?” Jaune asked, seeing the taller boy approaching him from behind.

“Pretty ballsy move setting off a bomb in your face to try and hurt the enemy,” Cardin responded.

He hadn’t sounded like he was mocking him, not in the way he was used to. This seemed light-hearted... Friendly almost.

“I wasn’t aware we were on speaking terms, Cardin,” Jaune mentioned.

Jaune didn’t want to start anything with the guy. The less time he spent near him, the less chance that something would come from it.

“We aren’t.” Cardin plainly stated, “But I’m going to talk to you anyway. Are you headed somewhere in particular right now?”

“Yeah, the principal’s office.” He lied. If Cardin thought he was going toward staff then maybe he would leave him alone.

“Okay,” Cardin responded and started walking in that direction.

When Jaune didn’t follow, Cardin shot him a look as if to say ‘come on then’. Not seeing a way out of this situation he decided to just wing it. Once he was on that elevator Cardin wouldn’t follow him, surely.

They walked for a few moments in silence. Eventually, despite not wanting to talk to him, Jaune’s curiosity got the better of him.

“You said we were going to talk?”

“Right, I suppose I did,” Cardin responded. “You did a good job of killing that Ursa.”

“What?” Jaune asked, confused as to what he was talking about.

“The Ursa Major. Took it on by yourself and won with barely an injury. No injuries if we ignore the condition I put you in.”

“Which makes me want to ask why the hell we’re talking again.”

“You did a good job when you fought Blake and Yang with your partner too.” Said Cardin, ignoring Jaune’s comment.

“Is there a point to all this?” Jaune frustratedly asked.

“There is.” After a moment he added, “You saved the Belladonna girl’s life the other day too, that also was good work.”

“Cardin, I’m not going to the dance with you, so you can stop flattering me already.”

The words slipped out of his mouth before he even realized he was saying them. He had gotten just a little bit too used to trash-talking as a way of distracting people. When he got through whatever was about to happen, he decided he would work on curbing that habit.

Surprisingly, rather than lashing out in violence or anger, Cardin chuckled. The concept was foreign to Jaune. Cardin didn’t laugh at jokes. Not unless it was a joke he was telling.

“Shame, I’ll sort something else out then. I'll get to the point.”

“Finally.”

“I’m sorry for putting you through what I put you through.”

_An apology?_

“You’re sorry?”

“Yes.”

Jaune shook his head. What was he supposed to make of this?

“Okay?”

"Maybe, I should explain."

"Yeah, maybe. Good luck with that though. There's no good reason for what you did."

"It may not be good enough for you, but I did have my reasons. I don't regret doing what I did."

"You don't regret it, but you're here apologizing?"

"Yes."

"You're not making this very easy on me Cardin."

Cardin sighed. "Look. When you got here, you were weak, pathetically weak in fact."

"Cardin..." Jaune warned.

"You were probably the weakest person here. The only reason you survived initiation is because you ended up with the Invincible Girl."

"This is the shittiest apology I've ever heard."

"As it turned out, there was a reason for that. You cheated your way into Beacon without any training whatsoever. You were a weak and an idealistic idiot."

"I don't have to listen to this!" Jaune spat as he sped up to get away from Cardin. Unfortunately, in his weakened state, Cardin was able to keep up.

"I thought if you stayed here, it would get you killed. As huntsmen, it's our job to save civilians. So I did what I thought would get you to quit Beacon. This is a place for warriors and heroes."

"What right do you have to decide what I can and can't do?!"

"None, but I thought it was the right thing to do, and I think you'd agree. You've pulled some crazy stunts to save the lives of people around you. This was no different. You took out a threat with your sword and a crate-load of dust. I was taking out what I thought was a threat to your life by trying to make you quit. I showed you the life you were signing up for. I was more extreme than I'm sure your partners were but much less dangerous than the Grimm would be. If what I did had have been enough to make you quit, then whoever you fought would have killed you."

"Yet here I am. Your stupid little plan didn't work, and I'm not some weak civilian."

He smirked, "No, you're not. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was wrong about you. You took my 'training' head-on and improved from it. You rose above your situation, growing strong enough to tell me to shove it up my ass, which you did. I'm glad that's how this ended."

"Fine, let's pretend I care about that. How about what you were going to make me do to Pyrrha? What did she have to do with this."

"I thought she was a crutch. She always protected you, babied you. I didn't do anything to her, but if you had, you couldn't have denied the fact that you didn't belong here. If you had turned on your team as a leader, I would have made you quit, or told the headmaster myself. Instead, though, you proved me wrong again. You were more than willing to put yourself in harm's way to protect your team. I respect that. Even if you hadn't have told me, I would have left you and them alone after that day."

"Am I supposed to just believe all this? It's not like you've got any proof. You could just as easily be covering your ass."

"Believe it or don't, you can tell the instructors if you want. I'll stand by what I did and take whatever punishment comes from it."

Jaune frowned. He hadn't expected him to back down and just accept that.

"I can't change what happened. But if you'll let me, I can try to put this behind us. The bad blood between our teams could get us killed on a job. We don't have to be friends. But let's stop being enemies." Cardin said as he thrust out his hand.

Jaune stared Cardin down, and in return, he stared right back. Jaune shook the hand he was offered.

"Fine," said Jaune, triggering yet another smirk from Cardin. "Not friends, but not enemies."

Cardin nodded, "Exactly. Now you better keep training. Just because you're stronger than I thought, doesn't mean I'm going to let you beat me in the tournament. You watch your back because I'm going to get you back for breaking my wrist."

_Did he break his wrist?_

And with that thought, Cardin turned and left Jaune in the middle of the hallway.

They had managed to make it almost the whole way to the elevator. Jaune decided that since he was here, he might as well visit the headmaster. After all, Professor Ozpin was his teacher now.

_Do apprentices have teachers? Do I have to start calling him Master or something?_

Whatever the case was, Jaune didn’t care. What he was interested in was what the man had planned for him. Professor Ozpin was a celebrity and an authority figure throughout all of Remnant. He was a prodigy-level talent. The youngest person to take the title of the headmaster of Beacon. His prestige class ‘Sage’ was theorized to be one of a kind, with there rarely, if ever, being two of it active at a time. He teaches leadership to every potential team leader that comes out of Beacon. All of the greatest warriors, the greatest teams came from Beacon. His father came from Beacon.

And now Jaune was to be privately taught by the man, one on one.

He couldn’t wait.

“Sir?” Jaune politely called from the elevator as the doors opened.

“Come in. I’m not busy right now so your timing is excellent.” The professor responded.

Jaune entered, and when given permission, he pulled out a seat.

“How is your recovery coming, it’s been nearly a week.”

“Well, it’s getting there. I’m starting to build up aura slowly. I’ve been told not to use it for anything other than healing, and never below a certain point.”

“Hmmm, it’s good advice. For both your recovery and life on the field. There is a reason we have fights end when a participant is below one-fourth of their capacity. And it's not for 'safety' since we are more than capable of healing injuries in training. It's much wiser to retreat and recover quickly rather than fight on."

“Why is it that the body produces less aura when we need it most? It doesn't seem logical.”

“Indeed, but that’s just the way things are. Stress of any kind weakens the soul and by extension our aura. If we are physically harmed, deep in intense thought, or even suffering from a broken heart, our aura shows it. You would be surprised what you can glean from little things like that.”

An interesting concept, but Jaune didn’t fancy himself a philosopher.

“I suppose you came to enquire as to the specifics of your training? Well then, to start, I would like to explain a few things.”

Jaune nodded to show he was ready to listen.

“Jaune Arc, are you aware of how many apprentices I have taken on?" When Jaune shook his head he answered. "None. Not once in my entire career as a huntsman or an educator have I done so. Not for lack of demand either. You are the first, and you will be shown the full benefits deserving of the position. Give me your scroll.”

Jaune obediently handed over the device, watching as the man interacted with it.

“I have given you my scroll number. You are welcome to use it at your leisure, but do not share it without reason. If you have questions about anything, and I do mean anything, you need not hesitate to ask. Make full use of this opportunity, as you now have responsibilities that come with the role.”

“What?” Jaune asked, confused as to what he meant.

"It's a concept I know you are familiar with, as an Arc especially. Your actions do not just speak for you. Everything you do represents your family, your team, and now, it represents me. As a result, it would be improper of me to merely teach you how to swing your sword faster. I will teach you politics, you will form connections with important people. I won't lie and say I am above forcing my paperwork onto you either." The small glint in his eyes looked predatory when he said that.

“In roughly a week you will see what I mean. There will be times where you must take time out of your training to oblige my requests, even if they seem trivial. It will be a favor to me when you do so, but one that will be repaid with knowledge and expertise. The relation between apprentice and master goes both ways.”

Jaune just nodded. He hadn’t thought this was going to go quite as it had. He was expecting the occasional training session. Not what sounded to be a career-long relationship with the man.

“Good. I'm aware you can’t train just yet, not with your body like it is. So instead, for now, I want you to do some research for me. Consider it a test of how well you can complete tasks I set you. Your performance will shape the way I teach you. Not to say there isn't value in the research you will be performing, of course.”

Again Jaune nodded. The professor was right, he couldn’t train his body, so it was a perfect chance to train his mind.

The professor smiled, “I would like you to return to me with an answer to the following question. 'What is Ki?' You may choose to provide as little or as much information in your response as you desire. To get you started, try some Mistralian tomes on the subject."

“And this will make me a better fighter if I understand it?” Jaune asked. The terms sounded like something he had read in a comic book.

“A better fighter and more. Don’t forget, you can contact me when you want help, or if you think you have the answer that I am looking for. I don’t expect you will disappoint me.”

Jaune scrolled buzzed on the desk, he could see from here it was a text from Pyrrha.

“I suppose that marks the end of our little chat. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.”

“Right... thanks. Have a good day sir.”

“And you as well Jaune.”

_Weird, he called me by my first name._

Jaune headed back down the elevator, checking what the message was. Pyrrha was letting him know that both his team and team RWBY had returned to Beacon. She told him to head back to the dorms but warned him that Nora was excited to see him.

As it turned out, the warning hadn’t been good enough.

Jaune opened the door to his room and was immediately smothered by the girl in a bone-crushing hug.

Jaune groaned a little, his heightened sense of pain making it feel much worse than it was.

“Down, Nora!” Ren commanded as if she was a dog. Nora obeyed.

“Sorry, hehe...” said Nora.

“It’s fine, I missed you too. It was mainly Blake and I this past week.”

“Sorry. We felt it best if we took care of Pyrrha once we knew you were safe.” Said Ren.

Jaune cocked his head to the side in confusion. Of all the responses, he wasn't expecting that one.

“She was...” Ren tried to word it properly but took a little too long in finding the answer.

“I was angry Jaune. Angry at Blake for getting you involved in that. She had no right."

"Woah! Listen, Blake didn't force me into anything. I went there willingly and it was just bad luck." Jaune replied.

"That's half the problem. You keep saying it was bad luck, but you should have told someone once you knew where she was going. If Ruby hadn't have turned up with her friend, you all might have died. You chose to keep that a secret from us. Do you know how that makes us feel? The first thing we heard was that our leader was in a critical condition, I thought I was going to lose my partner. I was grateful when you saved my life and I understand why you had to do what you did. You were literally cornered with no way out. But you picked an even bigger fight and got even worse injuries, and this time, it was a choice." said Pyrrha.

“It wasn’t that bad...” Jaune tried to explain.

“Yes it was!” she countered.

Jaune looked to Nora and Ren and they nodded in response to his unasked question.

“Even if we ignored the fact you nearly died, that was just the start of it. You came in with a head injury that could have left you unable to walk. 80% of your skin was melted down to the flesh and infection had already set in. That stab wound in your shoulder would have punctured a lung if it had been an inch lower. Not to mention the hundred little issues that your body had to fix. Your hearing hasn't recovered enough for you to hear the way your breathing sounds. But trust us when I say you sound like you're choking on sandpaper. You might have a lot of aura, and this might sound ironic coming from me, but you're not invincible."

“So what was I supposed to do then? Just let her die? Well, I’m not going to. I kept you alive, I kept Blake alive, and if I have to I’ll do whatever it takes to save any one of you.”

“That’s the problem, you idiot. The thought of saving yourself isn’t even an option. Save everyone else, or die trying. That’s your motto. It’s like you want to die or something.” Said Pyrrha.

Nora leaned into Ren for comfort, she wasn’t enjoying this any more than Jaune was.

“It’s not like that. You know it’s not. I will do everything I can to make the best of a bad situation. If I could’ve gotten out with them with me any other way I promise I would have. But you weren’t there. You didn’t see how fast he was. He had me pinned to the ground before I even saw him move. I don’t think I could have run even if I’d wanted to. It was the explosion or death.”

“Then can’t you stop going out by yourself and getting into these situations?” she begged.

“You can’t protect me forever Pyrrha.”

She looked like he had slapped her in the face.

“You won’t always be around. You shouldn’t be expected to always be around. He could have attacked Beacon while you were away. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did, he attacked us during initiation after all.”

Ren interrupted, “That was him?”

“Not him, but his group on his orders. He told me as much, though I was practically out of it when he did. Not to point out the obvious, but that guy is still out there, the explosion barely phased him. He has some kind of sick thing for Blake and he is going to keep coming after her and us until he gets what he wants.”

“The police and the huntsman are-”

“They’re doing their best. Sure. But if I see any of my friends in trouble, I’m not going to just sit and wait for them to rock up. I know you guys are upset because I keep getting hurt. But put yourselves in my shoes. If I was in danger, you'd protect me in a heartbeat.”

“Of course we would,” Pyrrha said. Nora and Ren backed her up.

Jaune lifted his arms as if to say ‘then...?’

Ren was the first to respond to him, “You’re right. We let our concerns skew our judgement. Protecting others, risking our lives, that's our job. ”

“We need our fearless leader to come up with crazy plans! If you die, I'll have one less pawn to help me conquer the world.” Nora added.

“I just don’t want to lose you.” Said Pyrrha.

Jaune's chest tightened when Pyrrha said that. He couldn't stomach the thought of losing them because they had to protect him. This is how they had been feeling every time he had done this or something similar.

“You won’t. I’ll get stronger. I can’t do anything right now, but with the professor training me, I know I’ll be-”

“What?!” the trio asked him.

“Oh yeah, I guess you guys never found out huh?”

They shot him a shared look as if they were reading each other’s minds. The kind of look that said ‘don’t waste our time, get to the point’.

“I used my favor to make Professor Ozpin take me as his apprentice. You said it yourself Pyrrha. I’m not good enough.” She looked distraught when he said that, but didn’t get the chance to interrupt. “So the first thing I did was make him promise to make me stronger. I even spoke with him before you guys got back and confirmed it. He’s serious about it.”

“Jaune, that’s amazing!” Nora declared, her mood shifted 180 degrees at breakneck speed. “Has he taught you anything yet? Anything... secret?”

“No, not yet, as I said, I can’t train in this condition. He just has me doing some research on something called Ki from Mistral.”

“He has you researching that? I didn’t think there was that much to it.” Pyrrha said in surprise.

“You sound like you know about it?” Jaune replied.

“It’s a fairly widespread concept in Mistral,” Ren explained.

“You know about it as well?” Jaune asked, receiving a nod from Ren.

“Ki is... It’s like aura in a way, but it’s the aura of your body, not your soul. All creatures have it, even Grimm. The way their eyes move as they look at things, the sound of their breath, their scent. Even the movement of their muscles is all a part of a creature's Ki.” Ren explained.

Pyrrha stepped in to explain what she knew, “Fighters experience it most strongly. We instinctively feel the Ki of our opponents and move according to what we believe the person will do next. Even subconsciously we do it to determine what they might be thinking. We know someone is angry when they frown or raise their voice. We know they’re tired when their breathing gets heavy. We don’t think about these things, but we know it.”

“That’s a lot less spiritual than I was expecting.” They both shrugged. “So Ki is just information about a person. Information you can read to predict their moves.”

“Basically.” They both responded.

“It’s just a theory though, it’s not like you can read someone’s mind just by looking at them or something. They like to claim there is more to it. Some deeper secrets, but I never bought into it myself.” Pyrrha added.

“Well, in any case, he has me researching it, maybe there’s something I’m supposed to learn from it. Like trying to read ahead or something. He did try to get us to play chess in one of his classes once. But I suspect that’s because he likes the game more than anything else.” Jaune joked, prompting laughter from his team.

“It’s good to have you back Jaune,” Ren stated.

With Nora taking lead, the four shared a group hug. It stung Jaune’s skin, but it was worth it.

**/-/**

They had spent a while just catching up. Jaune’s suspicions weren’t entirely unfounded and his team had spent a lot of their time training. They promised to show him a few new tricks when he was able to train next. Partway through the conversation, Jaune noticed his aura had been restored substantially. It was enough for him to be able to drain some off for healing without exhausting himself. Mostly he focused on the stab wound in his shoulder, as a result, he had regained most of his mobility back. By tomorrow it would likely be completely recovered.

“Hey guys, would you mind if Pyrrha and I went for a walk or something?” Jaune asked as he finished.

They both shook their heads.

“A walk?” Pyrrha asked, already standing to go with him regardless.

“Yeah, I was hoping to talk to you…” he looked at the pair that was watching him currently, “In private.”

Nora giggled to herself while Ren just shook his head.

“Oh. Of course.”

They hadn’t gone far. Just down the hall to a window that gave them a good scenic view of the academy grounds.

“So what’s this about Jaune?” she asked.

“Well, I guess I wanted to start by apologizing again.”

_Maybe this is what Cardin felt._

“I don’t regret what I did. But I regret what I put you through as a result of my actions. I’m sorry for scaring you like that.”

Pyrrha sighed.

“I suppose that’s all I can expect. I should’ve known you’d be trouble when our first impression was you flirting with Weiss. Or perhaps being willingly launched off a cliff with no aura was the bigger clue.” She teased.

“Shut up, you love me.” he offhandedly responded.

That shut her up pretty quickly. She might have practice holding her composure, but the early signs of a blush crept up her neck.

“I know that you’re probably still mad about, well, me. But I would like to take you out to dinner tomorrow night. Romantically I mean. Like a date.”

_Flawless execution._

Pyrrha smiled, looking him right in the eyes as she did so. Jaune wasn’t normally one for prolonged eye contact, but at moments like these, he never could look away.

“I suppose I could forgive you for now, if you’re paying, of course.”

He laughed.

“Of course.”


	19. Arkos I

It had been the best sleep Jaune had gotten in a while.

The fact that his wounds had been steadily healing was, of course, a factor, each night was better than the last. But Jaune had gone to bed in a mood far more positive than any this week.

It might have even been a great morning that followed it. But one question had set Jaune on edge, sparking panic with five little words.

"So where are we going?" Pyrrha asked.

"Uhhhh..." Jaune intelligently responded.

He hadn't thought that far. All he had done is acted on his desires and asked her out on a date. He didn't have any plans, after all, how could he? He had spent the last week in a single room.

"Should I wear my disguise again? It wouldn't do for us to be interrupted would it?"

"No," Jaune answered.

"No too which? The need for my disguise or the fact that we don't want any interruptions?" She asked with a smirk.

"Yes?"

Pyrrha sighed.

"Please just let me know before lunch okay, I would like time to get myself ready before we go out. It will be after lunch won't it?"

He nodded. "I'll let you know before lunch."

"Very well then, I'm looking forward to it. I shall get some early morning practice in then since my afternoon is spoken for. I'll see you then, Jaune."

Jaune waited until she had left, taking Ren and Nora with her. He then immediately whipped out his scroll.

Scrolling through the list of contacts he tried to work out who he could ask for help with this. Ruby certainly wouldn't be much help. Though she would be willing, her experience in dating was likely even more limited than his own. He could technically contact professor Ozpin, this would be a learning experience, right? No, that would be much too awkward. He didn't dare ask Ren or Nora for assistance. If he said anything to Nora, she would no doubt tell Pyrrha by accident. If he said anything to Ren, then he would eventually be forced to tell Nora. For such a stoic guy, he folded pretty to his partner's desires.

In the end, Jaune settled on a name. He was certain she would be able to help. She did, after all, plan his first date for him.

"How's it Yang-ing?" she asked, answering when he called.

Jaune ignored the terrible opener. "I need your help."

"How serious is it?" she asked, suddenly sounding ready for action.

"Life or death," Jaune responded without a hint of sarcasm.

"Got it. Where are you, we're on our way."

"I'm in my dorm room."

The line was silent for a few moments before his door was opened and the entirety of team RWBY bust in.

"What's the matter Jaune!?" Ruby asked, leading the charge with her scythe in hand. To her side, Yang had her gauntlets equipped and her eyes swiftly scanned the environment.

"I have a date with Pyrrha this afternoon and I don't have anything planned for it!"

Half the team looked like they didn't believe him. Weiss on the other hand looked like she might kill him.

"What do you need?" Blake responded without missing a beat.

"Somewhere I can take her for dinner. It needs to be private, I don't want her to have to wear a disguise. But I also need to be able to afford it."

Yang was rubbing her temples in frustration. Weiss was slowly sheathing her weapon. The look on her face said that she was still considering using it.

"Jaune... Maybe after what you did the other day, you should be a bit more conservative with your use of the term 'life and death'." Ruby suggested.

"But this is serious, if I mess this up there won't be a second chance. Pyrrha deserves the best."

"Well, for once you say something intelligent." Weiss chided. "Someone of Pyrrha's renown deserves nothing less."

"So you'll help me?" Jaune asked, pointing his hopeful eyes in her direction.

Yang snickered, disguising it with a cough when Weiss glared in her direction.

"I suppose... I could find you a suitable venue. You did help us keep Blake safe when she ran off." Under her breath, Weiss added, "Like a fool."

She approached Jaune and circled him. When he began to track her by spinning to face her she ordered him to stand still.

"This outfit won't do, however. You will need something less... this." She said, gesturing to all of him.

"O-okay. I guess I could pick out a different hoodie or-"

"Enough. Since you clearly can't be trusted, Yang, you're going with him. You're stylish enough to help him pick something that won't embarrass Pyrrha by association."

Yang gave her a two-fingered salute. "You heard her Lover-Boy, you're with me."

"I need to let Pyrrha know before lunch too, is that going to be possible?"

"Of course it is, it does not take Weiss Schnee several hours to book a simple dinner date. I will ensure that Ruby keeps your partner distracted yet informed for the occasion. Now go, you need to get out of those dreadful clothes."

"Wait! There's one more thing." Jaune added as he was being shuffled out of the room.

"What is it?" Weiss impatiently asked.

"The place needs to let me take my weapon inside. I don't want to just leave it somewhere. Just in case."

"A reasonable request, considering your track record. Now go, I will handle this and you can consider us even."

"Thanks, Weiss, you're the best!" Jaune said as he left.

**/-/**

"Okay Vomit-Boy, we're here. You sit there and wait while I pick something out, Weiss texted me a few details on the trip over so I know what I'm doing." Yang instructed.

It had been her first time taking a bullhead with Jaune, her first time seeing what he was like. The new nickname was probably deserved since he had nearly gotten some of it on her. He was going to miss Lover-Boy though. The new alias is much less flattering.

Yang had brought him to what looked like a fairly high-end clothing store. Seeing the quality of the items, Jaune began to worry they might bankrupt him before he even made it to the date. He quickly checked some of the price tags. A few hundred Lien here and there for different outfits seemed to be the average. The price was much more manageable than he had expected.

He thought if breastplate could cost him as much as it did, then these clothes must be at a similar level. But no, he could afford this and then some if he wanted. The life of a huntsman had its benefits after all.

It didn't take long before Yang returned with an armful of clothes.

"Try these on then come out and show me. I know what chicks dig, so I'll make the decisions for you."

He knew better than to argue, especially when she was here spending her time helping him.

Jaune took the offered clothes and went into a changing room. With some discomfort, he removed the clothes he was wearing. It would be in his interest to true and do some more healing before his date tonight.

Amongst the pile, Jaune pulled out a pair of white slacks and a matching white vest.

"Am I going on a date with Pyrrha or Weiss, what's with all the white?" He asked through the curtain.

"Weiss said that white and black go with basically everything, plus it's what you usually wear. She wanted to make sure your outfit didn't clash with Pyrrha's." Yang replied.

"Oh. I suppose that makes sense. You guys know what you're doing."

"Told you."

Jaune got into the pants and put on a black button-up shirt. Pulling the vest on over the top of that he paused to look at himself in the changing room mirror. He liked what he saw. He liked his old clothes too, they were comfortable, easy to move in, and familiar. But when he saw himself in these, it was like looking at a different person. Gone was the geeky Pumpkin Pete fan, and replacing him was a slightly less geeky huntsman.

He grabbed the final item from the pile, a black blazer. It had accents of gold from the buttons and on the lining and stitch work, as well as a splash of red from the interior.

"Yang, these are insane." He turned around in front of the mirror observing himself.

"If you're dressed then get out here and show me already."

He stepped out of the room and Yang's response was telling. A wolf whistle that brought a shy smile to his face. He wasn't used to this kind of attention.

"The red is a good touch for you Jaune. Put this on." Yang said, tossing several rejects to the floor as she handed him a red tie.

Jaune fiddled with it for a moment, revealing that he did not know how to tie a tie. Seeing this, Yang stepped up and did it for him.

"What is it about blonde men and not knowing how to do ties." She complained.

"You know more than one?"

"My dad. You'd think after 30 odd years he would know how to dress, but no. Cargo shorts and like 5 different shades of brown. That's his whole wardrobe."

Jaune laughed and then readjusted the tie to a comfortable length once it was in position. Yang handed him Crocea Mors, which he had left inside the changing room.

"Make sure this is easy to draw. Fashion is one thing, but you need to be able to fight in it."

He nodded, attaching his sheathe to his belt. The jacket hung over the handle slightly, but if he willed it, he could easily draw his sword. Now that he was looking for it, he realized his movement in this outfit was completely unrestricted.

"It's a yes from me. You said you liked it?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, it's perfect. I could probably fight quite comfortably in this."

"I'd hope so, we're at a huntsman clothing store after all. All of this is made to be fought in."

Jaune and Yang took the outfit to the counter. At the attendant's suggestion, he bought a pair of dress shoes to go with it. Apparently, the employee had seen him trying it out and thought to make the suggestion. In total, it wound up being a little over two hundred Lien. With the earnings from the mission with team CFVY, he would be able to cover that easily.

When they left the store, Jaune's scroll began to ring. Picking it up, he realized it was a call from Weiss.

"I'm sending you an address now. You will go make sure it is going to suit your needs and then you will return to our dorm at 5 to pick up Pyrrha."

"Pyrrha is with you guys?" Jaune asked.

"Somehow my dolt of a partner managed to organize a 'sleepover' with Pyrrha and Nora at our dorm. As a result, they are currently spending time making a mess and far too much noise. Somehow, I'm wondering if I got the short stick in this deal." Weiss complained. Faintly Jaune could hear Blake sarcastically apologizing for having her life saved.

"I'll check it out. Let Ren know I should be back soon, it'll give you a chance to get away for a few minutes at least."

"Thank you, I think I will do exactly that."

Weiss promptly hung up. A few seconds later the address was sent through.

"My job here is done Vomit-Boy. I'm heading back first. Good luck tonight." Yang said with a wink.

Jaune waved and said his goodbyes before heading to his destination.

As he walked he noticed a few things. For starters, the destination was close to where the Bullheads landed. This meant if all went well, they could spend more time out without having to worry about a curfew. Next, the part of the town he was heading into was beginning to smell different. As it turned out, the entire district was a cuisine hot spot. There were all kinds of different shops available for just about every type of food. Just walking through was making him hungry. Finally, he noticed that the address he had pointed to the tallest building in the immediate area.

It was fancy, at least compared to every restaurant he'd ever been in. Fancy enough to have him feeling out of place and wishing he had stayed in his new outfit.

Heading inside he was instantly greeted by a member of staff.

"Greetings sir. May I ask your name?"

"Jaune." He answered, when the man simply waited patiently he added, "Jaune Arc."

"Do you have a reservation for today, sir?"

"I'm not sure. A friend of mine recommended this location to me, told me to make sure it was suitable for… A date."

"Perhaps your companion left a name, sir?"

"Yeah maybe, she didn't say. Her name is Weiss, Weiss Schnee."

A look of recognition passed over his face.

"Excellent, you are the one Ms. Schnee mentioned would be dining with us this evening. Come, I will show you to our finest seats, you can take your pick and we will ensure that it is ready for you this evening."

Jaune was dumbstruck. By just dropping her name he was instantly being allowed into the building. He was taken up several flights of stairs and onto a balcony that overlooked the city street.

"Would this be suitable for you sir?"

"Uhhh yeah I guess. How many customers do you get usually? My partner for tonight doesn't like being crowded and I'd like some privacy if possible." Jaune asked, hoping for another stroke of luck.

"Of course, of course, sir. I give you my word. Tonight you and your partner will experience a night of privacy and top quality service. We do not accept just anyone off the street. You will not be bothered by any of our clientele, this is a promise, sir."

"That's great, thanks," Jaune responded. He was out of his element with the way the man was bending over backward to please him.

"What time would like to book your seating?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I'll be picking her up at 5 and curfew is at 9 so sometime between then. Whenever is fine."

"5 until 9 it is. We look forward to seeing you tonight."

"Wait what? Is it okay for me to reserve these seats for four hours?"

"It is our pleasure to offer this, sir."

The culture shock was overwhelming, Jaune couldn't do much more than thanking the man and heading out. Hopefully, Pyrrha would be more in her element than he was.

He wouldn't know until tonight though, and until then, all he could do was head back to Beacon and wait.

**/-/**

"Hey Ren?" said Jaune as they meditated together in their dorm room.

Without opening an eye he responded, "Yes Jaune?"

"You and Nora don't have an issue with me and Pyrrha going on dates right? I don't want to make things weird."

He was quiet for a while, just maintaining his meditation.

"Ren?"

"Sorry, I was thinking it over."

Jaune gave up any attempt at trying to meditate or train, he was too invested in this conversation.

"So does that mean you do have a problem with it?"

"No. There is nothing wrong with you both trying to make something work. I was just considering what might happen if things don't work out."

"Oh… I suppose that could be awkward."

"Quite. I'm sure there are plenty of teams that face this same issue though. In an ideal world, you would make things work indefinitely. Failing that though, you will have to make sure you guys can stay friends."

"I guess so. I didn't think that far ahead I suppose. How do you and Nora do it? You guys have been together for years right?"

Ren sighed, "Nora and I aren't together."

"Still though, after so many years you must have had fights, right?"

"We have been lucky to never have had anything to fight over, but we have had our disagreements." Ren opened his eyes as he answered. It seemed Jaune had managed to drag him into the conversation properly.

"What did you do then?" Jaune asked.

"We compromised."

Jaune hummed thoughtfully. Ren made it sound so simple. Had they had so few disagreements all this time? Or was their communication on such a good level that they could get through it as easily as it seemed? Jaune had seen his sisters go through their share of boyfriends for a multitude of reasons. Most of which were things Jaune would never do himself, but even then, sometimes things don't work out.

Jaune checked the time and sure enough, it was getting close to when he would need to pick Pyrrha up. He started getting dressed in his new outfit when there was a knocking on the door.

Hurrying to get himself into a presentable appearance he answered the door and saw that it was Nora.

"Hey, Jauney! I'm here for Renny." She said with a smile.

"Tell her I'm not here." He whispered as he snuck toward a window.

"Oh Renny, don't you know my hearing is better than that? You're coming with me."

"Jaune, please! It always goes the same way when this happens!" He pleaded.

Nora kicked down the door, knocking Jaune out of the road. She grabbed Ren by the collar and began dragging him through the window he had nearly escaped out of.

"Thanks for your help Jauney."

"Please…" Ren pleaded.

"Nora, can I just ask where you're taking him?" Jaune asked.

"Well, you're taking Pyrrha, and that means there will only be 5 of us. It'll be awkward if we have an odd number, so Ren gets to be an honorary gal for the evening. Isn't that great Renny?"

Ren stared Jaune down as Nora pried his fingers from the door frame. Jaune could only silently mouth 'I'm sorry' as he watched his friend being dragged away.

_There is no chance I'm getting involved with that._

That little interruption had chewed up several minutes of his time he soon realized. Rushing to get ready, he strapped his sword to his waist and gave himself one final look in the mirror. With a nod, he left the dorm and crossed the hall.

He could hear the muffled sound of laughter from within. Ignoring it, he knocked on the door.

"Hello, Jaune." Pyrrha greeted after opening the door.

Looking inside, Jaune saw that the girls had already gotten to work on Ren. He seemed resigned to it all, sitting impossibly still as Ruby brushed his hair and Nora braided it. His attention was dragged away by Pyrrha’s appearance though.

She wore a sleeveless Grecian style dress that hung off her left shoulder. It was red, a shade deeper than her hair, but surprisingly similar to the shade he was wearing himself. Underneath the dress was a long flowing bronze skirt that fell short of a pair of golden heeled sandals. A Brown belt hugged her waist, upon which sat her spear.

"Hey. No shield tonight huh?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Not all of us have a transformable sheathe Jaune, isn't there something else you want to say though?"

Jaune blinked once before realization set in. "You look lovely tonight!"

She covered her hand to hide the small giggle that escaped her lips. Yang hadn't been as kind and barked out a laugh at his expense. Weiss too sighed in exasperation.

"You cut quite a dash yourself. I dare say I could get used to seeing you in clothes like this more often."

Jaune offered her his hand in a display of chivalry that believed was proper. His sisters had always emphasized being a gentleman when he finally convinced a girl to date him. The way they said it had always been undercut by their mocking tone, but the lessons had stuck regardless.

"Shall we go?" he asked.

Pyrrha slipped her hand into his and followed him through the door.

"Have her back before curfew Jaune, or there will be questions," Yang said, half-joking.

"Please hurry back," Ren begged.

Blake shut the door on the pair, cutting off Ren's last chance of escape.

"I fear our poor teammate won't be the same when we return. Yang managed to get into Ruby and Nora's heads. Saying that long hair was better than short because you could do so much more with it. One thing led to another and Ren is now their styling dummy. He'll be lucky if they stop with his hair." Pyrrha explained.

"We will have to cheer him up later then. For now, tonight is about you and me." Jaune replied, trying his best to sound suave and charming.

"Well then, do lead the way."

Jaune had managed to make it through the Bullhead flight without embarrassing himself. He had purchased a pack of anti-motion sickness tablets that were doing their job. His regular illness was limited to a dull unsettling of his stomach.

When they stepped off the vehicle and onto the street, Jaune could tell his partner was tense. He had a good feeling he knew why too.

"Don't worry, it's nearby. The chances of us being stopped by some manic fan between here and there is pretty low."

"Thank you, Jaune. To be honest, even with the pocket-sized distraction you sent me today, I was still worrying about tonight."

"Did Ruby make it that obvious?" he asked, not mentioning the fact that it had been Weiss who sent her.

"Honesty is a respectable trait for any aspiring huntress." She responded.

"So you're saying she can't tell a lie to save her life?"

She laughed, "Yes, I suppose that's another way of putting it. The impromptu sleepover was about as subtle as Nora's warhammer."

They both laughed as they walked. Jaune was scanning the streets, making sure he could see any signs of people heading their way. A lot of guys had their eyes glued to Pyrrha, a lot of girls too, but none approached.

"You certainly turn heads when you're out Pyrrha. It must be rough."

"Indeed it is, but it helps that they're not just looking at me."

Jaune tilted his head in confusion, and she directed his attention to his left with a discrete point of her gaze. Turning to look he caught a pair of women look away from his direction and laugh.

"Do I look silly? I had help picking it but its not my usual-"

"Jaune, I think you might be misunderstanding. You look quite charismatic tonight. I'm worried if I'm not careful, I may have competition for your attention tonight."

Jaune shook his head firmly. "No chance. Tonight I'm all yours."

She removed her hand from his, causing him to worry he had said something wrong. When she proceeded to wrap her arm around his and press her hips against his, his worries were erased.

The two walked like this for a short distance more before reaching the venue he had booked.

Opening the door for her, Jaune allowing Pyrrha to enter first.

"Welcome back sir. Might I say your companion for this evening looks lovely." The same attendant he had spoken to earlier today commented.

"Thank you. I'm to understand we have a table booked?" Pyrrha managed to respond in a much more professional manner than he had when he spoke to the man. Proof of her years of diplomatic training.

"Indeed you do madam, allow me to show you both to your seats."

They were led upstairs, back to the balcony seating Jaune had been offered. Hastening his step, Jaune moved ahead and pulled the chair out for Pyrrha. As she sat, she took her weapon off her belt and placed it beside the table.

Jaune followed her lead and did the same when he took his seat opposite her.

As soon as they both were seated a waitress came over to present them with menus before backing away. The floor they were on was relatively empty. Only two other tables were occupied and each was a distance away from their own.

"So Jaune, would you like to tell me how you got us a table in a place like this? Correct me if I'm wrong, but this doesn't seem like your normal hangout." Pyrrha asked as she idly looked over the options on the menu.

Jaune did the same. He soon realized that the prices were reasonable enough. The issue was that he was having difficulty reading what the food was. None of the names were familiar to him, almost another language entirely in places.

"Well… You know, a man has his tricks after all." He bluffed.

"How mysterious. Was it Weiss?"

He hung his head. "Yeah, it was Weiss. Did any of them have any subtlety about helping me plan this?"

"Not really, no. Weiss was constantly on her phone with someone and complaining about 'stupid blondes'. Yang was absent all day as were you. Blake looked like she was up to something as well. So if you have another secret planned, just know that she will be my first guess." She laughed.

"You caught me I guess. I would have liked to come up with something myself, but I didn't give myself a lot of time. I just wanted to ask you as soon as I was able."

A small smile graced her lips as he admitted to how eager he had been.

"Well even if Weiss picked the venue, I'm still happy that you asked me. I won't lie to you Jaune, I've been harboring a small crush for you these past few months."

"What?!" Jaune exclaimed. "You're serious?"

"I might be Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl. But I'm still a girl. Can you blame me when Mr. Tall-Blonde-And-Handsome risked his life to save my own? Or when he then proved to be a good friend and capable leader? I feel any girl would struggle to resist such a fairy tale scenario, but for me especially…"

Jaune could feel the heat of his cheeks burning away, he wasn't the only one either. Pyrrha was struggling to maintain eye contact like she usually did. Instead, she was staring out over the rooves of the city into the starry night sky.

"Do you know much about stars Jaune?" Pyrrha quickly changed the subject. He was grateful for the excuse to skip giving a response to the confession she had just laid on him.

"Not in particular, no. Why?"

She pointed out to a particularly bright cluster of stars.

"Do you see that constellation there?" She pointed at a particularly bright star in the sky. "If you know what to look for it's shaped like a human body."

Jaune followed her gestures as best he could. If he tilted his head and focused he could somewhat make out a vague shape as she described.

"I can see it, yeah." He responded.

"That constellation is one of the few that can be seen from all four kingdoms in Remnant. My mother told me a story about it that I always liked to think about when I was traveling for my tournaments."

Sensing the intensity of her interest, he asked, "Would you tell me? The story I mean."

She glanced over to him before looking back.

"It's not a particularly long story. The constellation is named Andromeda. The story goes that she was the daughter of a king from ages passed. Due to her natural beauty, a great power decreed that she must be killed as a punishment. The princess was chained to a rock by the ocean all by herself. A sacrifice to a great monster that lurked within the depths. Before her demise, she was saved by a great warrior and the two were later married, living happily ever after."

Romance, action, and a happy ending. It seemed Pyrrha was raised on stories not too dissimilar than his own family's.

"I like the story because I see myself in her place." She looked at him all of a sudden, "I hope that didn't sound too arrogant of me. I'm not trying to say that I'm a natural or beauty or anything, I was referring to my talent as a fighter."

Jaune nodded, showing her he hadn't thought anything of the sort.

"I was alone for a long time. It was hard to make friends and even harder to form a meaningful relationship. I guess I liked the story so much because it gave me hope that one day a hero would come and save me too." She laughed before adding, "Though perhaps it is I who should be doing the saving, and my hero the one chained to the rock."

"In any case, I find myself looking upon that constellation often. It gives me hope that things can always get better. No matter how hopeless things seem or how alone I felt. As it turned out, I was right. I'm now blessed with amazing friendships and I am here on my second date with the hero who saved my life."

"Let's not forget all the times you saved me. I wouldn't have made it this far without you Pyrrha."

"Nonsense, you would have been fine." She unconvincingly replied.

"I would literally be a stain in the Emerald Forest. I couldn't believe the headmaster just launched us like that. I was so shocked by the concept that I didn't think to step off the platform."

The waitress reapproached the table. "Are the two of you ready to order?"

Pyrrha responded first, "That sounds lovely. I'll have the coq au vin if that's okay?"

"An excellent suggestion. And for the gentleman?"

He looked between the waitress and Pyrrha who were both waiting for his response. The waitress maintained a perfect visage of professionalism. Pyrrha however had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. She knew.

"The beef… 'boar-gweeg-none' please." Jaune tried and failed to request.

"One coq au vin and one beef bourguignon, we will have that ready for you as soon as possible."

"We will have some water if you don't mind."

"Of course." The waitress responded as she left with a polite nod.

Jaune turned back to his partner after watching the waitress leave. She had the smuggest grin on her face, poorly hidden behind her hand.

"'Boar-gweeg-none'." Pyrrha copied.

"Shut up. I don't even know what it is, I just ordered it because I know what beef is."

"You'll be fine, it's a type of stew. As long as you don't spill anything on yourself you'll find it perfectly edible."

"You make this look so easy, I'm thinking next time I ought to take you somewhere that I can be the impressive one."

"I have been attending dinners like this for a long time. It would be embarrassing if I hadn't learned after all this time. Awful presumptuous of you to assume there will be a next time though Jaune."

Jaune recoiled from that statement, it was putting the cart before the horse somewhat. He had to make sure he finished this one on a high note first. Still…

"What happened to the nice Pyrrha who wouldn't tease anyone." He waved his hand gesturing to all of Pyrrha, "This one is so much meaner."

"Oh, Jaune. I'm still that same nice Pyrrha to everyone else. You're the only one I tease." She said.

"I can't tell if that makes it better or worse." With a sigh, he offered a change of topic. "So I suppose it could be fun to trade stories tonight. It could be a good way to get to know each other?"

"I could think of a few that you would find interesting, why don't you start though."

"Yeah, I was planning on. You already told me your favorite story from your parents, so I was thinking of telling you my own. Have you ever heard of the story of The Warrior of the Woods?"

"I have. A cautionary tale to teach children not to get into trouble they aren't equipped to handle. Such as wandering into the woods without any aura." She replied, poking a finger into his chest to accent the point she was making.

Jaune laughed, "I thought you might focus on that. But it was never the lesson I learned from it."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Well, you already know the story so I can skip the specifics. The boy had been saved countless times by the huntress. The same woman who had been hurt by others, to have had everything torn from her. Despite everything she had been through, she saved time after time and didn't even expect a reward. Seeing this woman, the boy pushed himself to become a strong and capable warrior in his own right. He returned her kindness with a kindness of his own. Ending his story with the regret that at her hour of need he couldn't be there for her. I think the important lesson was that if you have the power to help others, you should. And if you don't, you'll be left with nothing more than regrets."

"In this instance, you see yourself as the young boy who became a warrior no doubt. You believe you have the power to help, so you will do everything in your power to try. Even if it means entering the Grimm infested forests by yourself."

Jaune nodded, "And I suppose that makes you the huntress. Always saving the boy and helping him become a warrior who could help others."

"I'm starting to wonder if maybe we both have taken after our favorite stories a little too much. What do you think?" Pyrrha asked.

Confidently Jaune answered, "I don't think I would have it any other way."

"Hmmm, I suppose you wouldn't." she hummed to herself, thinking. "How about my most memorable fight?" She asked.

Jaune was about to answer when from the kitchen within a large orange flame erupted from one of the stoves. It had last no longer than a second and from his peripheral vision, he had hardly seen it.

"-aune. Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted. Her face was dripping with concern.

"Sorry, I was distracted. Your best fight sounds interesting let's hear it."

She clearly didn't buy it, but she delved into the story of one of her past exploits anyway. Her fighter had shown an extensive understanding of Pyrrha's fighting style. Her opponent had prepared a counter for every trick she was famous for at the time. In combination with a Semblance that could create walls of solid air, Pyrrha was stuck for what to do. Completely ineffective at range and countered at a distance, Pyrrha had to come up with a new trick. It was this fight where Pyrrha added the javelin to her kit. A ranged option with more stopping power than regular dust rounds, at the expense of being slower. Of course, she hadn't had a spear at the time. Instead, she had lobbed her sword and controlled it with her Semblance.

Jaune was impressed by her quick thinking. Turning a disadvantage into a chance for growth wasn't something that anyone could do. Pyrrha's talent was the determining factor there, no skills or luck involved.

When the meals arrived their conversation stalled. Each was more than happy to indulge in the high-quality food that had been put before them. Pyrrha's dish turned out to be some sort of chicken dish, he wouldn't have guessed it from the name.

"So how are your injuries healing? With your aura, you should be nearly in top shape right?" She asked once both had finished eating.

"Yeah, I am. I'm going to take an extra day off training to be safe." Pyrrha nodded appreciatively, "But I'm basically all better now. The sensitivity was the worst part by far, I am glad that's gone."

"Are you all better though?" she asked. When he didn't answer she added, "I've seen you around fires before. You didn't use to react like that. If I recall you had no issue grabbing hot coals with your bare hands in the past…"

"What do you mean react, I was just distracted for a second." He lied.

"Try 5 or 6 maybe. You didn't respond when I was talking to you and you were so still, like a statue."

"It was nothing, I wouldn't worry about it."

She frowned. "Care to prove that?"

He didn't answer, nor did she wait for him to. Instead, she stood from the table and made her way over to the kitchen. He couldn't hear what she had said, but she had returned with something in her hands. He stepped up from his seat to see what it was she had planned.

"Let's make a deal. If you don't flinch, I was wrong and… and I'll do any one thing tonight only!" she said.

Jaune didn't want to push his luck. He didn't know what his reaction would be, surely it was just a minor distraction. But if it wasn't, then this date was as good as ruined. Pyrrha's concern for him would overwhelm any enjoyment they might get out of the rest of their night. He had to find a way to talk her out of this.

"Anything? Are you sure about that?" He asked, hoping to psyche her out.

She nodded. "If I'm wrong I can handle whatever task you set me to. I'll buy deserts or I'll handle consoling Ren when we get back."

"What about a kiss?"

He could see the shock from the moment she instinctively took a half step away from him. With a blush painting the entire surface of her face, she steeled herself and step right back. She was standing even closer than she was before.

"Fine. A Kiss. Only if you don't react."

Jaune wasn't prepared to push her any more than this. It would potentially ruin the night even more than the worst-case scenario he was in right now. So he nodded.

Pyrrha brought it up in front of his face and he could see it was a chef's blowtorch. It was probably for making desserts with caramel in them. But right now it was to be a test.

She gave him no warning and ignited the flame. A small blue flame jetted out of the end, right in front of Jaune's nose.

He hadn't had time to think, because before he realized it he had stepped away from the tiny fire a full two strides. His hand had raced to his waist where Crocea Mors would normally sit. The moment he found it missing was the moment he realized what he had just done.

"Jaune…"

"Okay fine. You were right." He looked away from the flame which was keeping him on edge even now. "That's new information for me as well. But let's not ruin our date tonight worrying about it. We can talk it over tomorrow."

Jaune tried to look back at her face to plead his case. With the fire there, he could barely manage to keep it at the side of his vision. Instead, he turned around and collected his and her weapons.

"Please." He begged, with his back turned.

"Right, of course." She approached and took her equipment from him, placing the inactive torch on the table. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

Jaune took Pyrrha to find where they went to pay and were directed back to the entrance.

"I hope your evening was up to your standards tonight, do feel free to let us know how we could have improved."

"It was perfect, thank you," Pyrrha answered.

"How much do I owe you?" Jaune asked, taking what some Lien out of his pocket.

"Tonight sir, your expenses were all paid for."

"What? How- Weiss. Thank you, have a good night." He said, leading Pyrrha outside.

"And to you as well sir, madam."

Jaune considered calling Weiss right then. He wanted to know why she had paid for his date. It was his job to pay for the lady, not the other way around. Especially when the lady paying wasn't even present. He sidelined that thought though.

"It's getting late, maybe we should head back," Jaune suggested.

"No!" Pyrrha replied in a hurry, "I mean. We still have time right? Why don't we walk around for a while."

She clearly wanted to stay out, but the brisk air had goosebumps spreading over the skin of her arms.

"You sure? It's cold and it's only going to get colder."

She nodded.

Seeing that she was set on the idea, Jaune did the only appropriate thing and he took his jacket off and offered it to her. The action brought a small smile to her lips and prompted a 'thank you'. She wore it properly, rather than just draping it over her shoulders as he had seen in movies. Surprisingly, the sleeves came down onto her hands. Pyrrha was pretty much the same height as him, so the fact his arms were longer was curious.

Jaune pushed himself to stand up completely straight, correcting the slouch that he usually had, it bought him maybe an extra inch.

Looking down he spotted the heels on her shoes were about as large as they were in her combat outfit.

"Pyrrha how tall are you?" he asked.

"Why do you want to know?" She hesitantly responded.

"I think… I think I'm taller than you. I didn't realize it until now though. I want to check."

"No, we're the same-" she spotted his eyes gazing at her shoes, "Should I take them off?"

"Ahh no there's no need, I was just curious." He answered. Too late apparently as she had already slipped out of them.

It wasn't much, a few inches at most, but he was right. Despite what he had thought, he was taller than the girl. If the way his jacket hung off her form was anything to go by, he had a wider frame than her too.

"Satisfied?" she asked with a curious inflection.

"Yeah. I guess since you always wore those heels, I thought you were taller than I am."

"Is it a good thing that you're taller?"

"I guess? It wouldn't have really mattered in the end, it's a few inches. But I guess the guy is usually supposed to be taller. Girls like taller guys don't they?"

Pyrrha stepped a little closer, with her shoes off she had to slightly tilt her head up to look at him.

"You may have realized this already Jaune, but I'm hardly the expert on relationships."

She placed her hand atop her head and brought it over to Jaune's forehead. He had thought she was just confirming the height distance.

She suddenly used that hand to cover his eyes and he felt something soft briefly touch the side of his face. It was then he realized that it hadn't been so innocent an action.

She removed the hand from his eyes, revealing the blushing figure of the girl before him.

"I guess if I had to choose though, I would say the height you are is just right. It would have been harder for me to do that if you were too much taller."

Jaune was speechless, rendered mute by the situation. All he could manage to do was to bring his hand up against his cheek. Watching him struggling she giggled and grabbed his hand within her own.

"Perhaps that will do as an apology for making things awkward back there."

Jaune nodded as Pyrrha began to pull him along. They were heading back to the Bullheads.

"Are we heading back? I thought you said-"

"I simply wanted to make the time to try and end tonight on a high note. It is quite cold and you're still recovering, so I think now is a good time for us to head back."

Still in shock from what she had done, he followed passively. This is twice now that she had managed to take control during a date. Next time he promised, she would be the one surprised.

**/-/**

Jaune and Pyrrha said their goodbyes at the door to team RWBYs dorm. When he returned to his room, he saw Ren.

"You poor bastard, what have they done to you."

Ren maintained the thousand-yard stare that he was making at the wall. His hair had been done up in twin-tails, something that would have been bad enough on its own. The painted nails and faint smudges of color around his lips though? They painted a picture of just how much he had been put through.

"Come on Ren. Let's get you cleaned up, then I can cook you something to eat. Maybe a steak or something. It always made me feel better after my sisters did this to me."

Ren put up no resistance as Jaune undid the hairstyle and cleaned the paint off his nails.


	20. Food for the soul I

“Weiss, we need to talk.” Jaune texted.

“Fine. I’m in the library.” She texted back a few minutes later.

_Already?_

It was still early morning and he hadn’t spotted any of the other girls out and about. From what he had heard, they had been up late into the night. Long past when he finished helping Ren recover from his trauma.

When Jaune arrived at the library, Weiss was already deep into several textbooks. It looked like she had taken on the professor's optional reading.

“Hey.” He said, pulling up a seat. “You’re up early.”

“That’s because I went to bed early. Though I can’t say it earned me much in the way of extra sleep. They’re far too loud.”

“Makes sense. I’ve got a question for you if that’s okay?”

Weiss closed the book she was reading with a huff. “Very well then, ask away.”

“Why did you pay for everything last night? That wasn’t part of the deal we had.”

“No, it wasn’t,” she replied.

“Then…?”

“I suppose you could consider it an apology. Finding a venue was meant to be a show of my gratitude for your help with Blake. But I also owed you for… my less than proper treatment of you in our early interactions.”

“You mean how you sort of assumed I was a nobody and not worth your or Pyrrha’s time.”

Her shoulders dropped slightly. “That is a very direct way of putting it, but yes. I had misjudged you, before even getting the chance to know you. It has been brought to my attention that I have a bad habit of doing this. First you, then with Ruby when she was made leader, not to mention the views I held toward Faunus and the White Fang. I had allowed my upbringing to cloud my judgement. Something I never thought I would let happen. So for that, I apologize.”

“Well, I guess I can accept that apology. It sounds like you’ve learned a lesson from it, and our teams are pretty close… So we should try and be friends too. I’m happy to forget about it and move on.”

“Thank you Jaune, I appreciate that. There was a small part of me that worried you would turn around and try to weasel a favor out of me. You wouldn’t have been the first. It seems I had misread your intent entirely from day one.”

“My intent?” Jaune asked.

“Do not worry, it is just an Atlesian teaching my father forced onto me. ‘Always try to read what your opponent will do. If you know how they think, you know how they’ll act’.” She sighed, “He is a businessman who seeks to dominate every interaction. As the heir, I was expected to learn these barbaric mind games.”

“Hey Weiss, are there any books on that topic, or were you taught everything by a tutor or something?”

“Are you seeking to get into the world of business? I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s a cutthroat world.”

“Nothing like that. It’s just a side project I’m doing some research on.”

“Hmmm. Well, maybe not specifically what I talked about. The Schnee have their own methods after all. But I’m sure you could find some Atlas texts that cover the art of negotiation and diplomacy.”

“Right. Thanks, Weiss.”

“You’re welcome?” She responded as he got up from his seat and headed straight to the shelves.

Jaune scanned the shelves until he found a suitable section. From there he stumbled across a book that appeared related to what Weiss had mentioned. 'The Buying Game'. A book aimed at low-intermediate level negotiations. Jaune skimmed through the early chapters that dealt with customs and so forth. Eventually, he found a section that drew his interest.

_‘A lot of the game depends on recognizing the types of shop-keepers. One must not assume that the rural merchant is ignorant and easily fooled. Nor that the rapacious city merchant is selling shoddy merchandise._

_Knowing what you're buying and from whom is a talent bought only after years of practice. Know the specialties of certain regions and merchants before you even step foot in a shop. Recognize too the prejudices of the region._

_Sense the moves of the game, and everyone can win.’_

His suspicions were correct. Though this was heavily focused on speech and trying to buy or sell items, it’s logic was similar to that of Ki. You gather information about your opponent, and with it read their moves. At the same time though, you mustn’t fall for deceptions that set up assumptions.

Jaune was already coming up with examples. Things he had done the utilized this principle without him even realizing it. When Yang got angry she got sloppy, he knew what made her angry so he pushed those buttons to prompt a reaction. The same was true with Nora, if she got too excited, collateral damage was expected. Reading her moods and acting preemptively was something he did a lot.

Jaune immediately pulled out his scroll to call professor Ozpin.

“Yes, Jaune?”

“There’s more to it than just Ki isn’t there. Atlas has Intent, reading their personalities.”

“Very good. You’re getting closer. As you said, Mistral has Ki and Atlas has Intent. I wonder what you might find if you were to look at Vale or Vacuo next.”

Jaune could hear the man’s approving smile through the scroll.

“Got it. That was pretty blatant as far as hints go though.”

“I’ll be sure to not make it as easy for you next time. Good luck with your reading, Jaune.”

The professor hung up, leaving Jaune wondering what to do next. Sure he could sit here and try and find a book on a topic that he doesn’t even necessarily know the name of. But on the other hand, he did have other things he could be doing.

Jaune said his goodbyes to Weiss as he left. Her apology had been nice. The issue itself wasn't something that he had ever spent a great deal of time worrying about. But that didn't make her efforts any less admirable. Underneath that cold outer shell, Jaune could vaguely sense a kind girl trying her best.

Jaune headed back to the dorms. It was time to collect his team. Fortunately, it seemed that they had grouped up on their own while he was at the library. They were currently standing outside their room talking.

“Hey, guys!” Jaune called out.

“Hey, Vomit-Boy!” Nora called back.

_Wow. Yang wasted no time in sharing that little nickname._

“Where have you been all morning?” she asked.

“The library,” Jaune responded.

The look on Nora’s face upon even hearing the word was payback.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be forcing you to go there any time soon.” She sighed in relief, “I was thinking the four of us could get together and do some training today. I bet you guys have gotten even stronger while I was out of action.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Ren asked. “It still hasn’t been that long since you were discharged.”

Jaune ignored the look that Pyrrha gave him. The one that said ‘now’s a good chance to tell your team’.

“Yeah, I think it’s for the best. I need to get back on the wagon.”

Continuing to ignore Pyrrha, he got in one final statement. One which he knew would completely derail the discussion.

“Unless you and Nora are scared of sparring with me that is.”

“What?! Scared?! You might be my fearless leader, but that won’t stop me from squashing you like a bug! Ren, we’re going, come on!” Nora instantly replied, grabbing Ren and dragging him away.

“You will tell them, won’t you?” Pyrrha asked as they began to follow.

“I will. Just not straight away. There’s no use worrying them if we can fix it ourselves.”

“We?”

“Well yeah. You’re my partner, so you’re kind of contractually obligated to help me play with fire.”

“Idiot.” She replied with a smile.

**/-/**

“Oh, leader!” Nora called menacingly from the center of the arena.

_Run run run run!_

Another explosion went off where he had been a second ago. Jaune counted his lucky stars that her explosions were bright pink and smokey. If they had been incendiary, he would have likely frozen up and been hit by the first one.

As it was, he was struggling to keep ahead. Even with his dexterity at its limit, Nora’s rounds seemed to follow him wherever he went.

“You spend a week locked up in your room and suddenly Nora knows how to plan ahead! Who decided that was a good idea?” Jaune shouted to his team in the stands.

That all too familiar sound of her weapon popping open rang out.

_Chance!_

Jaune dashed into the center toward her. With his level of speed, he was only barely able to reach her as she finished her reload and swapped to her war hammer. Now came for the hard part.

Nora’s grenades were troublesome, and if you couldn’t get past them then you couldn’t get to her. But she was leagues more dangerous in close range. If she had the chance to start swinging, then you had to give her attacks your full attention. Against Nora, Jaune’s best defense was an all-out offense.

Jaune's best weapon for this was his aura. His control had progressed leaps and bounds since he had started. The efficiency of his skills growing as he used them. He probably fell short of many of the others who had had years to train with their aura. But he was getting there. The culmination of his efforts was his muscle augmentation. It was an equalizer for him as he fought people with stronger stats and higher levels. It raised his dexterity and strength far beyond his normal limits. By allocating about fifty percent of his aura, he could pose a threat to even Nora.

Jaune slammed his sword into Nora’s guard. Again and again, he struck as fast as he could, knowing that even if she never struck back, he was on a clock. Fighting at this pace, assuming his stamina didn’t give out, he only had 15 minutes from start to finish.

Using the recoil from one of his blows, Nora tried to land a counter. Jaune punched down on the shaft of her weapon with his shield, pressing it into her chest. Without the head of her weapon, she was left with naught more than a short staff. Reduced to that kind of weapon, her fighting power was greatly diminished. But with her level of strength, her defense was still a hard shell to crack. Not to mention...

“You know what comes next right?” Nora asked.

“Yeah… I know what comes next.” Jaune responded, bracing himself.

From point-blank range, she activated her weapons explosive power. It was muted and purely concussive, a safety measure for herself and a feature of the weapon itself. But it was enough to knock Jaune back several feet, right back into swinging range.

_Phase 3…_

Nora had had years to learn her weak spots and improve on them. This was one of her solutions. As long as she had ammunition in her weapon, she could force the distance she needed. With six rounds in the drum, that was 6 chances to put you right where she wanted you. Each time you had to overpower her attacks and smother her all over again. If somehow you managed that you still had her final trump card to deal with.

Unfortunately, Jaune lacked the technical skill to do this. He had done well to get the drop on her when he did, but when she started her attacks, he was forced on the defensive. Her strikes drove through his guard, pressing his feet to the ground. His dexterity was useless when he could barely stand under the pressure.

Jaune backed up, rolling away from another full power swing.

“I forfeit!” he declared.

“Aww…” Nora whined.

The rest of team JNPR came down to discuss the fight.

“Learn anything Nora?” Ren asked.

“Yeah. Even if I plan my shots and have him on the run, I shouldn’t just stand still.” Nora responded.

_True. If she had backed away while reloading I wouldn’t have made it in time. Her next onslaught would have blown me away._

“How about you Jaune?” Pyrrha asked.

“Hmmm, this tactic worked on Nora, so that was good to learn. I’m stuck on where to go next with trying to beat her though. Other than work on my basics I mean. Do you have any ideas?”

Pyrrha and Ren looked at each other.

“Well, we did talk about one. But it’s not exactly a super practical solution, all things considered.” She said.

“Well hit me with it anyway, what’s the harm.”

“There’s no harm, so long as you don’t get distracted. You’ve got the potential to learn a hundred times as many skills and techniques as we do. But this also means you’ll need to put one hundred times more time into training. The more you spread out your skillset, the less time each skill gets. Your aura has come a long way, while your sword and shield skills have progressed less so. If we introduced something new, it would take even more time.” Ren explained.

“Ok. Point taken, but tell me anyway. I know you’re not going to tell me something like ‘buy a gun’ or ‘start using dust’ since they’re so out of my usual style.”

“You need to learn to use your hands more,” Pyrrha stated. “You’ve attempted tackles occasionally and you’ve tried disarming Ruby once or twice. But you don’t have any real skill. If you could introduce some technique to the situation you could open some more options. Imagine if once you got Nora pinned as you did, you had followed up by disarming her. She couldn’t have disengaged or defended at that point.”

“So some hand to hand skills? That makes sense.”

Playing over the fight in his head he could picture it. With his shield's ability to retract he could free one hand. Then when it was pressed to Nora's torso he could have at least grabbed her hand. Even if he didn’t disarm her, stopping her from firing would have done a lot.

“Would either of you be willing to teach me?” Jaune asked.

They both nodded.

“I’ll teach you what I can, but Pyrrha’s style is probably better for you,” Ren explained.

“Sure, I’ll teach you. But not now, you have other, more important things to focus on. Right, Jaune?” said Pyrrha.

“Right…”

“Ren. I’m hungry.” Nora suddenly declared.

“Sounds like it’s time for lunch then, let’s go, team!” Jaune said, leading the way.

Pyrrha sighed but followed.

**/-/**

“Not cooking today Ren?” Jaune said as he sat down with his team.

He had a plate full of food, real food for a change. Normally Ren made a variety of pancakes for every occasion. Instead, he had to choose from the food in the cafeteria.

The bread was rock solid, and he had no idea how they managed to roast a chicken while keeping it so tough. From what it looked like, no one else was any more impressed than he was.

“Renny, this food is gross. Why can’t we have pancakes?” She said as she catapulted a grape into Yang’s mouth with her spoon.

“I’ll go out after this and buy some more then. It’s your fault for eating so much this last week Nora, you burned right through our stash.” Ren replied.

“Ugh! But I was stress eating Ren. You can’t get angry at me for stress eating.” Nora said, lobbing a grape even higher than the last.

Jaune slowly chewed through his meal listening to the two argue. He also heard a few snippets from team RWBY across the hall.

“I always kick my semesters off… with a Yang!” said Yang.

“Boo!” Nora heckled as she threw an apple.

Yang didn’t catch that one, it hit her straight in the forehead.

Jaune watched as she looked around for something to throw back, settling on a green apple. Her throw hadn't been aimed well in her haste. When it came flying his way he blocked it by lifting his food tray. The apple ricocheted off and hit Ren.

“Hey!” Ren exclaimed in surprise.

“Did she just throw something at my man?” Nora fumed.

Pyrrha and Jaune looked at each other.

_Her man?_

Nora managed to steal one of the neighboring table’s food, acquiring a full cream pie. Ren saw what she was planning and tried to intervene.

“Nora I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I’ve got it!” She proudly declared.

Like a shotput, she lobbed it toward Yang. Ren tried to stop her but only managed in pushing her throwing arm to the side. The pie flew off to the left and landed right in Weiss’s face as she stood up.

Jaune could do nothing more than hold his head in his hands as he watched this go down. In shock, Pyrrha merely covered her mouth which was hanging open in shock.

Nora quickly sat back down and pointed at Ren as if to say ‘he did it’.

Weiss wiped some of the cream from her eyes and stared down the offending team.

“Hey come on Weiss… We’re friends aren’t we?” said Jaune, trying to negotiate peace.

“Of course Jaune. We’re such good friends… I’ll be sure to kill you last.” She responded.

“Scatter!” Jaune yelled as he tossed the table up as a makeshift wall for them to hide behind. Something big and heavy slammed into their defensive position not a second later.

“My binder!” Ruby cried.

“We have to do something, try to distract them. If we can get them to take their eyes off our position, we can sneak away.” Said Jaune, trying to come up with a plan of how they could get out of this.

“I’m on it.” Said Nora as she tossed a banana full force into the window behind them, creating a yellow splatter.

“Did it work?” Jaune asked.

He popped his head over the top to have a look to see what they were up to. Weiss was passing miscellaneous food items to her three team members. Yang lobbed a handful of mashed potatoes at his head, forcing him to duck down lest he is struck by it.

“We need a bigger distraction. Throw something else. Something that they couldn’t ignore.” Ren suggested.

“Jaune…” Pyrrha whispered.

He felt himself suddenly feel a lot lighter, weightless in fact.

“I’m sorry!” she said as she lobbed him across the hall and straight into the window.

“What the-?!” the four girls of team RWBY reacted.

Nora made quick use of the distraction, racing toward the far end of the cafeteria. As she ran she was picking up and launching tables and chairs so that they stacked up on top of each other. Other students were being thrown around as part of the carnage. The smarter ones were already running as fast as they could out of the building to escape what was to come.

Jaune slowly slid down the glass and managed to crawl away from the distracted team RWBY to his team.

Nora stood tall above the rest of his team atop the fortress of cafeteria tables she had stacked up. Below her to her right was Pyrrha.

Her face showed just how much she was loving the conflict. Her Semblance was hard at work dragging vending machines in front of her team's castle. Ren offered Jaune a hand and pulled him atop the tables.

“The General has returned!” Ren shouted to Nora as she chanted ‘I’m the queen of the castle!’ loudly.

“Excellent, we shall route our enemies. They shall come to know fear!” Nora declared.

“Your tyranny will not last! We will have our vengeance! It will be swift! It will be painful! It will be… Delicious!” Ruby released her war cry. Her teammates all shouted in a frenzy as she crushed a full carton of milk in her hands.

“My loyal pawns. Off. With. Their. Heads!” Nora ordered.

She leaped from the top of their castle down to their collection of ‘artillery munitions’. Nora flipped an entire table of watermelons. Ren kicked them out of the air, sending them hurtling toward team RWBY.

“Yang! Turkey!” Ruby ordered.

Yang quickly ran toward their position. As she did she picked up a full roast turkey in each hand, equipping them as meaty cestus. With her duck-and-weave boxing, she slipped between the hailstorm of fruit. Any which she couldn’t dodge she destroyed without mercy for her surroundings.

When she got within range she punched her Turkey Celica towards Nora.

“I’ve got it!” Jaune shouted.

He forced his arm through the handles of a lunch tray, donning it as a shield to block the incoming projectiles.

“Excellent my knight! You will be rewarded greatly for this service!” yelled Nora. “Now fire back at them!”

Pyrrha grabbed a stack of plates that had managed to avoid being shattered in the chaos. Like a discus, she hurled them at Yang. Out of nowhere Blake appeared and cut them from the air with a pair of baguettes.

Pyrrha rolled to collect her own loaf and faced down Blake in the center of the battlefield. Their ‘blades’ locked before suddenly Blake disappeared and reappeared behind her.

“She’s using her Semblance!” Jaune shouted.

Pyrrha hadn’t needed the warning. She had fought Blake once before after all. Before she had even reappeared, Pyrrha had turned to face the direction she appeared from. In Blake's surprise, she failed to protect her bready weapons from Pyrrha’s. Her weapons caught the blow on a poor angle and were shattered. With a followup thrust, Pyrrha slammed her back several feet. Immediately she turned her attention to Yang, throwing her weapon like a javelin.

“Agh!” Pyrrha suddenly cried out clutching her eye.

“They have a sniper!” Ren shouted.

Scanning the environment, Jaune spotted her. Ruby had taken a position at the far end of the hall and she was armed with a spoon and a mountain of peas. She was flinging them with pinpoint precision at his teammates.

Ren dashed out from his position on the backline to try and wipe out the sniper. All of a sudden he slipped and slid across the floor, crashing into the tables.

“Take that!” Weiss taunted.

She had covered the floor in a thin layer of tomato sauce, creating a surface with as little friction as ice.

With the time her partner had earned her, Ruby shot another pea at Pyrrha. Seeing it coming Jaune leaped in front of her. The pea struck hard, and it struck a particularly vulnerable pair of organs.

“Jaune!” Pyrrha cried out. “Nora! Smokescreen! Now!”

“You got it!” Nora replied as she shoulder checked the vending machine.

Grabbing the shaken cans she lobbed them around, causing a spray of soda to fill the air. Ruby would have a much harder time landing her shots through that sugary haze.

Pyrrha dragged Jaune away, behind the vending machines where it was safest.

“Don’t worry Jaune, you’re going to be okay!” She reassured.

“Go on without me… You have to win this. Win this for us.” He groaned.

“I will. I won’t forget this sacrifice. I won’t forget you Jaune.” She said as she wiped away a tear.

She stood up and marched toward the battlefield, leaving him behind to wait out the pain. He could just barely see the battlefield through the gaps in the machines. Nora demolished both Weiss and Yang with a Melonhild of her own creation. When Pyrrha joined the fray, Blake too was taken out. The entire cafeteria's supply of soda cans being weaponized to do it.

Ruby pulled herself away from her defeated partner and stared down his team. Her eyes burn with the threat of vengeance. She took a runner’s starting position and in the blink of an eye, she was behind him. Her impact when she came to a sudden stop near the wall was enough to crack the floor in a two-meter radius around her.

Jaune could hear whistling, and then screaming.

The wind she had created with her dash was picking up the battlefield debris and his team members. Launching them at the wall. The stone pillars that helped keep the roof above them were beginning to crumble and fall.

It was fortunate then, that professor Goodwitch had turned up when she did. With a wave of her riding crop, all of the damage was completely reversed. It was as if nothing had happened.

She looked furious. The headmaster placed a hand on her shoulder. Whatever he said next calmed her, delaying her revenge for the disruption to her schedule.

His teammates peeled themselves off the wall and pushed themselves onto their feet. With shaky legs, they headed over to congratulate the victors.

“2 out of 3 promises isn’t bad Ruby. Swift and painful. Not so sure about the delicious one though.” Pyrrha said to Ruby with a smile.

“Perhaps you will think carefully before throwing a pie at me next time?” Weiss sarcastically quipped.

The time to rest had allowed his unmentionables to retreat from his throat. Now able to move without wanting to throw up he pulled himself over to the conversation.

“Where did Yang go?” he asked.

_Crash_

Yang fell through the roof and crushed one of the tables as she landed.

“There she is! I knew I put her somewhere.” Said Nora.

“Children! I will let this go, just this once. But do not let me catch you doing this again.” Ms. Goodwitch ordered.

“Yes ma’am.” They all dutifully responded.

“Now go get yourselves cleaned up. I refuse to use my powers to clean the jam out of your ears.” Ms. Goodwitch added.

“And Jaune, once you’re cleaned up. Meet me in my office. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 11**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 21 (52) [+7]**

**Fortitude: 25 (62)**

**Dexterity: 15 (37)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **???**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.

 **[Aura Control: Level 5]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 25%   
All Aura abilities are 50% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 3]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 13(19) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 3]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 13(19) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(225)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 3]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 70(105) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 1]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 11(16) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.5xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 5]**   
Aura Recovery Rate +150% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)  
** Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 30%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 3] (Passive)  
** Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 30%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 15%

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de** **grâce** **!]  
** A finishing blow to an injured opponent.  
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.  
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.  
Cooldown 3 seconds.  
Recharge 60 seconds.


	21. Diplomacy I

“Ironwood certainly loves bringing his work wherever he travels.” Ms. Goodwitch huffed.

Jaune shuffled his feet as he stood around awkwardly. His two professors both stood by the window watching the incoming air fleet.

“Well... Running an academy and military makes him a busy man. But yes, those are a bit of an eyesore.” Professor Ozpin replied.

It was a statement that only cemented Jaune’s feeling over being out of place. They were talking to each other as if he wasn’t even in the room. He had been offered nothing more than a succinct explanation of what he was doing here.

James Ironwood, General of the Atlesian Military and the headmaster of Atlas academy. One of the most influential people in the world. He stands on equal ground with professor Ozpin in terms of authority and prestige. His battle skills are time tested and his class, ‘Paladin’, is famous. Of all the classes, Paladin was the only one that affected the people around the class bearer. Its unique mechanic of bolstering the power of his allies was game-changing.

Jaune Arc, the Novice and apprentice to The Sage of Vale, professor Ozpin, was to meet with him face to face. He had every reason to feel the way he did right now.

A display lit up and began beeping on the headmaster’s desk, ‘Access Requested’.

“Jaune. Time to make a good impression. Don’t try to be someone you’re not, but also don’t feel pressured to stick your neck out to get noticed.” The professor advised before calling out, “Come in!”

The doors opened and through them walked the general himself. Dressed in full military uniform he walked with the confidence of a man who had nothing to worry about.

“Ozpin!” He cheerily greeted.

“Hello, General.” Ozpin politely greeted.

“Please, drop the formalities.” He requested, grasping and shaking one of the professor’s hands with two of his own. “It’s been too long!”

Ms. Goodwitch walked up to professor Ozpin’s side. The general immediately turned to address her.

“Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met.” He said suavely.

“Oh James.” She pretended to swoon, “I’ll be outside.”

The general watched her leave, before commenting, “Well she hasn’t changed a bit.”

Finally, he turned his attention to Jaune.

“And you must be Jaune. I’ve been waiting to meet you. A lot of people have in fact.” He held out his left hand for Jaune to shake.

It was weird to be offered a left hand but Jaune was too busy being polite to comment. He knew that the general had offered his right gloved hand to the professor.

“It’s an honor, sir,” Jaune replied as he took the hand and shook it firmly.

“So...” said professor Ozpin, “What in the world has brought you down from Atlas? Headmasters don’t typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival.”

“Well... You know how much I love Vale this time of year. Besides... With you hosting I thought that this might be a great opportunity for us to catch up.”

Ozpin took a seat after pouring himself a cup of coffee to sip on.

“I can certainly appreciate quality time between friends... however... a small fleet outside my window has me somewhat concerned.”

“Concern is what brought them here.”

“I understand travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult-”

“Oz...” The general interrupted. “You and I both know why I brought those men.”

To Jaune, this was beginning to sound a lot like a conversation with subtext. It seemed the two men had remembered Jaune’s presence. They both looked him over as they considered their next words.

“We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this are just going to give off the wrong impression.” Said professor Ozpin.

“But if what Qrow said is true-”

“Then we will handle it tactfully.” The professor interrupted. “It is the Vytal Festival. A time to celebrate unity and peace. So I suggest you not scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent.”

“I’m just being cautious.” The general stated.

“As am I... Which is why I will continue to train the best huntsmen and huntresses I can.”

The general looked to Jaune when this was said.

“Hmmm, then why don’t you tell me something Jaune. Do you believe you can win a war? Do you have what it takes?”

_A war?_

“I’m afraid I may not have fully understood the conversation you were both having. I don’t know what war it is you’re asking me to win...” Jaune said.

It was flattering that at the mention of ‘best huntsmen and huntresses’ the general thought of him. But the general didn’t know him, not yet. It was time he learned the most important lesson about Jaune Arc.

“What I do know, is that if my friends are in danger, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe. No matter the cost.” Jaune stated, staring directly into the general’s eyes. Neither he nor the general broke eye contact for several moments. Jaune could feel the man trying to read him. He was searching for some hint of a lie or weakness. Frankly, it reminded Jaune of his father when he was suspected of having done something wrong.

The general placed a hand on his shoulder, his right hand. Jaune knew now why he didn’t offer it straight away. It was solid and not at all made of flesh. The general’s hand, and who knows how much of his arm was artificial.

“That’s a good answer, soldier. I’m starting to see why he might have chosen you.” General Ironwood said with a smile. “I’m taking my leave for now Oz. I’m sure that we will be in touch. I’m looking forward to seeing how your children match up against the teachings we offer back home.”

Ozpin gave him a polite farewell nod and watched as the man took his leave.

When he finally had and it was just him and the professor left, Jaune let out a relieved sigh.

“You did quite well Jaune. I believe you impressed him with your determination. He always did have a soft spot for those who were able to deal with him head-on. He detests word games and the inconvenience of politics.” The professor encouraged.

“Can I call you Oz as well? You’ve been calling me Jaune all this time, and ‘professor Ozpin’ is a mouthful.” Jaune responded.

For the first time, Jaune saw the professor show a degree of surprise.

“I must say, that’s not what I expected to hear from you after that.”

“Well, you all refer to each other by first names. James, Glynda, Oz and Crow-”

“Qrow.” The professor corrected, somehow able to tell.

“So can I?” Jaune pushed.

“I have no issue with you calling me whatever you want. For the sake of maintaining an image though, I would suggest a compromise. When it is Glynda or James, feel free to call me what you will. But around anyone else who calls me ‘professor’ or the like, reflect that. The truth is that you are being shown favoritism. But it would not be in your interest to broadcast that recklessly. Not yet at least.”

“Right. That makes sense. Good idea... Oz.” Jaune tested out the name. It felt foreign. But it also made the relationship between him and his teacher feel more natural. It reminded him of training with his father, he could never have called him Mr. Arc.

The professor chuckled as he watched Jaune adjust. “How goes your research? Have you made any progress?”

“Not since we last spoke. I’ve decided that hunting down books is going to chew up too much time. I think it would be more productive to see if I can stumble across the answers as I have already. I didn’t mention it, but it was Weiss who pointed me in the right direction.”

“Relying on the experience of others is certainly a wise decision. With that said, I have a package for your partner. If you would be so kind to deliver it to her for me, it would be much appreciated.”

The professor pulled out an irregularly long suitcase and handed it over.

“Make sure she reads the letter inside.”

“Sure. Will do, Oz.”

Jaune took the case and left. It wasn’t heavy exactly, but it definitely contained more than just a few letters from home. Jaune was quite excited to see what it was, so he headed straight for the dorm. If he was lucky he would catch her there before she left.

**/-/**

“For me?” Pyrrha asked.

Jaune nodded as he handed over the package. Pyrrha had been kind enough to let her teammates take their showers first. Which is why she was still around for Jaune to catch her. Her still damp hair was clinging to the skin of her neck, waiting to be tied up into her standard ponytail. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen her like this before. But he never had the confidence nor the motivation to openly observe like he was.

“Your hair looks good when it’s down.” He commented. It wasn’t that he was trying to compliment her, it had just stood out enough that he felt he had to say something.

Pyrrha took the package and sat down on her bed. “You think so? It’s not very practical though. If I tried to fight like this it would get in my eyes.”

“I suppose it would. Oh, and by the way, the professor told me to make sure you read the note.”

Pyrrha opened the case and sure enough, sitting on top was a single-page letter. Beneath it though was the more interesting content.

The case held two wooden training weapons. They were almost perfect copies of Crocea Mors and Pyrrha’s short sword. Pyrrha placed down the letter to pick up and examine her wooden weapon.

“It’s well made. The balance is nearly identical. Impressive considering the original has so many moving parts and hollow parts. How about yours?” She asked, tossing his sword at him.

He caught it and sure enough in his hand, the balance was indiscernible from the original.

“What does the letter say?” he asked, hoping for an explanation.

Pyrrha read the contents of the letter aloud.

“Ms. Nikos, I and many others have recently become aware of your extracurricular activities that involve the training of your partner. Enclosed within are wooden training weapons that should match both of your regular weapons. I would like to request a small amendment to your training.”

_Oz is finally going to start helping me train. I wonder what it is. Maybe he’ll have me practicing some new technique, or he might want Pyrrha to help me learn this ki reading thing._

She continued reading, “If you do not think yourself capable, do not worry. When I have spare time I will be enforcing the same training on your partner personally. But from now on, when you spar, I would like you to consider using these weapons instead of your usual weapons.”

_Okay... A little weird. Maybe it’s so my aura doesn’t get chewed up every time I make a mistake?_

“Additionally, from now on, Mr. Arc is banned from using his aura during spars. This means no channeling, no enhancement, and definitely no shielding. Do note that Mr. Arc is allowed to use his aura for his recovery, as well as aiding his awareness.” Pyrrha put the letter down. “Wait what? He wants you to fight without aura? What purpose could that possibly serve?”

Jaune shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe he wants us to take it slower in our spars and focus on getting more time in? I do lack experience in fighting, so maybe he thinks more volume less intensity?”

Pyrrha picked up the letter again, and with a voice that rose in volume, she read. “While I understand your concerns with fighting an auraless opponent. I would ask that you do not take it easy on him. You are to use the full extent of your powers to force him to fight at a level you normally would. I want you to ensure he feels every strike you land. If you have concerns, I am willing to discuss it with you further in person. Professor Ozpin.”

“Well...” said Jaune. “I mean... I did learn very quickly when Cardin put me through something similar. He always broke my aura first before he started putting me through the different ‘games’ of the day.”

“Are you suggesting we actually try this? Even at the level I normally fight you, I’m confident I could break bones with my strikes. Even this wooden sword would be enough to cause some damage.”

“What’s the harm?” he realized what he just said and put a hand over her mouth to block the deserved response. “Ok, yes that’s the harm. But in the long run, I can heal from those injuries pretty quickly. If the professor thinks it will help me learn faster, I’m willing to try it.”

“I don’t know if I am. I don’t want to hurt you like he’s asking.” Said Pyrrha after she pulled his hand away from her lips.

“If it helps... You’re the person I trust most to beat me up and break my bones for the sake of training.” Jaune said as he took her hand within his own.

“Jaune! Talk some sense into-” Blake yelled as she raced into their dorm.

She slammed on the brakes and just stared at the pair. Alone in their dorm room, sitting on the same bed holding hands. It probably made for quite the image.

“Oh, um, I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything. I probably should’ve knocked or something. But then it’s barely past lunchtime and you didn’t lock the door or put a sock up or anything.”

Pyrrha began to blush while Blake continued putting her foot in her mouth.

“Besides, if you’re into having a stronger woman beat you up, then who am I to judge anyway. I’ll just pretend that I didn’t hear that part. It takes all sorts after all.”

Even Jaune began to blush after that comment, but it didn’t end with just that. Blake was shoved into their room as the rest of team RWBY poured in.

“Jaune, you’ve got to help us convince Blake that...”

Blake had caught them doing nothing suspicious, not really at least. The picture that their blushing faces painted however was much more incriminating.

The entirety of Team RWBY was dead silent and stuck in a staring match with Jaune and Pyrrha. Until finally Ruby pulled Yang down to whisper in her ear. The whisper was loud enough that everyone in the room could hear it over the silence that it replaced.

“Did we catch them doing it?”

“Eep!” Pyrrha squeaked.

“Rubes, how do you even know what ‘doing it’ is? You’re supposed to be my innocent untainted little sister forever!” Yang cried.

“I’m 15 Yang, not 5, I know what sex is.”

Jaune decided it was time to step in and say something. His partner was beginning to steam. The moisture still present from her shower evaporating on her rapidly warming body.

“W-we weren’t doing anything!” he stammered.

_Nailed it. Super convincing._

“I think I speak for everyone when I say perhaps it would be best if we got back to what we all came here for?” Weiss suggested.

“You have to help us convince Blake!” Ruby yelled all of a sudden.

Simultaneously Blake shouted, “You have to help me talk some sense into them!”

Jaune looked between the four members of team RWBY as they stared back at him waiting for a response.

“Does somebody want to explain what’s going on?” Jaune asked.

“They’ve got this stupid idea that-” Blake started.

“Ah ah ah!” Yang interrupted as she clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Blake has been acting weird since last week. She is always stuck on her phone, and we always catch her looking at crime reports. She isn’t sleeping properly and we are getting worried.” Ruby explained.

“Professor Ozpin said that the police would handle it, but she won’t see sense,” Weiss added.

Blake ripped Yang’s hand away from her mouth. “You know how dangerous they are Jaune. The police don’t know them as we do. We have to do something before more people get hurt. How would you feel if somebody died because you refused to take action!”

The room was quiet again, finally, as everyone waited to hear what Jaune had to say about the situation. Pyrrha squeezed his hand. When he looked her way, she was giving him that same look she had been giving him on and off for the last few days.

“Blake... You’re right, I do think something needs to be done.” He lifted a hand to cut her off as she went to interrupt. “But! The others are right too. We could’ve gotten hurt. I already did. We might feel like we have to take action. But how do you think our partners would feel if they just let us run to our deaths.”

Blake looked at her team and they each nodded to show that was exactly what they were trying to say.

“I want to help, truly I do. But I’m still not 100% after what happened. If we rush into this, nothing good will come from it.”

“I’m not trying to rush into things. We could do some reconnaissance. Learn something then tell the professionals and have them finish the job. You don’t have to do any of the fighting. If we even think Adam is around we run.” Blake explained.

“Can you promise that Jaune won’t have to do any of the fighting?” Pyrrha asked.

Blake nodded. “I was thinking Weiss could try and get some information from her family’s records. He could go with her.”

“I know a guy who knows things. I could ask him what he knows. Jaune is always welcome to come with me there as well. We had fun the last time we went there.” Yang added with a wink.

_She’s probably talking about Junior. She seems to be familiar with what he does if her blowing up his club is any indication._

“I’m pretty sure the White Fang is having a recruitment meetup tomorrow night. We could infiltrate that too.” Said Blake.

“That one sounds like the most dangerous one. The majority of us should go there to back Blake up. She is Adam’s biggest target, so Pyrrha you go with her. I’ll see if Ren and Nora will help us too.” Jaune said, pulling out his scroll to contact his teammates. "I'll go with Yang, I won't be able to do much just watching Weiss at the CCT."

“I still don’t like this... But if it means Blake will start acting normal again, I’m on board. I’ll go with Weiss.” Said Ruby.

“Meet up tomorrow at your dorm after lunch?” Jaune asked.

Ruby nodded. “Come on team, let’s go. We need to head to Vale and get ready.”

As team RWBY left he turned to Pyrrha.

“Thanks for helping me with this.”

“I would have helped you with it last time if you had asked me, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I need you to promise me a few things though.”

Jaune chuckled. “That sounds fair.”

“You can’t get hurt again. Promise me you won’t.”

“I can’t promise that, even with Yang, accidents happen.”

She frowned. “Then promise me you won’t put yourself in harm’s way just to protect someone else.”

He scrunched up his face. “I can’t promise that either Pyrrha...”

“Then... Then at least promise me that you’ll only step in if it’s life or death.”

“I-”

Pyrrha interrupted, “Jaune, you’re not as strong as everyone else. An injury for them could be lethal for you. Promise me that if we do this, you only take on what you can handle.”

Acknowledging that this was probably the best offer he was going to get, he nodded.

“I promise not to take on anything I can’t handle unless it’s life or death.”

“I suppose that will have to do. So what do we do now?” she asked.

At that exact moment, the door was flung open once again.

“What’s this I heard about a secret mission?!” Nora shouted.

**/-/**

It hadn’t taken much work to convince Ren and Nora to accompany them. Nora was always ready to get her hands dirty and Ren refused to let his friends fight without him.

With his team on board and team RWBY present, there was very little that could cause any real problems. That didn’t mean that nothing could go wrong of course. Jaune knew that it was better to be prepared and not need it.

This is why he and Pyrrha found themselves in the Beacon kitchen.

“It’s weird. I’m here, mentally there’s no problem whatsoever. I’m ready and willing. But I know the moment you turn that knob I’m going to be fighting for control of my mind.” Said Jaune.

“Nothing weird about that Jaune. Being afraid of something doesn’t mean you spend your whole life worrying about it. Some people are afraid of heights but that doesn’t necessarily stop them going upstairs. We just need to reacclimatise you.” Pyrrha encouraged.

He nodded. “Right. Turn it on.”

Pyrrha rotated the knobs of one of the gas stoves, causing a small orange flame to flicker into existence.

Instantly Jaune’s eyes honed in on it and his body tensed. He felt a hand touch his shoulder, ripping his attention away from the fire.

“Jaune. It’s okay. You have aura, it’s tiny. It can’t hurt you.” Said Pyrrha. She spoke calmly as if she was trying to console a child who had grazed their knee.

Jaune grit his teeth in frustration. Something like this shouldn’t be holding him back. He forced himself out of his seat and took a step towards it.

The flame flickered as an incredibly slight breeze passed over it. Jaune’s mind flashed back to the explosion. The blinding heat and the flash of yellow, orange, and red. Jaune forced his eyes shut.

He could smell it as if he was still there, he could feel it. The way his skin bubbled. The way his clothing had melted and fused to his body. The way chunks of charred tissue was torn as he was dragged away by the man who had tried to kill him. The ringing in his ears was as loud as ever, drowning out all except the loudest of shouting.

“Jaune!” he finally heard Pyrrha shout.

He forced his eyes open and saw Pyrrha standing right in front of him. The fire was out. A glance over his arms proved he was safe and uninjured. It hadn’t happened again.

“Sorry...” Jaune apologized.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize.” She replied. “You’re brave. I know you can handle this. It will just take time.”

“How can you think I’m brave? I doubt I could cook an egg on a flame that small.”

“I don’t think you’re brave, I know you are. You wouldn’t know because you didn’t go to a combat school. But half of the students in a class will drop out after their first encounter with the Grimm. That's the reason why we only get a dozen or so huntsman applicants from the entire kingdom. Because the majority of people can barely stand to look at them. I’ve seen you take on Grimm with barely a reaction.”

In truth, Jaune had been scared of them. Larger than life and equipped with fangs and claws, they were hardly easy to look at. Jaune’s fear of the beast was just weaker than his fear of failure.

This was no different.

Jaune walked up to the stove again. His heart was still hammering away in his chest after the last time.

“Jaune, maybe that’s enough for today? We don’t have to rush it.” She suggested.

“No... I’m a pretty stupid guy Pyrrha. I think you know that I have to have the lesson bashed into my skull. I learn best-”

He flicked the stove on, and before he had a chance to react or think, he thrust his aura covered hand into the fire.

“-by immersion!”

“Jaune!” Pyrrha exclaimed in surprise.

The fire was hot, of course, but his skin didn’t burn. He knew that his aura would protect him from that, or at least the logical part of his brain did. It warded off the corrosive venom of a Deathstalker. It absorbed the explosive impact of Nora’s grenades. And just as he suspected, it muted the heat of the flame.

In the back of Jaune’s mind, he could still feel the lurking possibility of losing control. The whispering that he needed to run or fight; life or death. As he stared at the flames which licked at his fingers, his breathing grew faster and shorter.

He lasted several more seconds like this before he had to pull away. His nerves and determination could only ward off the screaming of his mind for so long. Pyrrha turned off the gas, extinguishing the flame and allowing him to relax, if only slightly. She guided him to a chair, which he took readily as he checked his scroll. His mind had been screaming danger, but his aura held. Several seconds of direct exposure to a small flame had only drained a few points of his aura. The reassurance that his life wouldn’t end the instant he touched the flames was worth its weight in gold.

“Well done, Jaune. Can we stop now, please? It wasn’t exactly pleasant watching you try and cook yourself. It’s just as unpleasant watching you shake like that.”

He looked at his hands and sure enough, they were unsteady. He gripped his left wrist with his right hand, forcing himself to regain control.

“S-sure.” He stammered. With a cough, he continued, “We can stop for now.”

“Why don’t we go to the library? We could get ahead of our studies. Or we could-”

“Pyrrha, can we spar?” Jaune interrupted.

“I don’t know if-”

“Please? I need to take my mind off of that. If I just sit around I won’t be able to get the feeling out of my head. Even now it’s like I'm back there.”

“If that’s what you think is best. Aura up though. It wouldn’t do to get yourself injured before tomorrow.”

“Sure. Let’s go.”

**/-/**

Jaune’s fist once again flew past Pyrrha’s face, missing by barely an inch.

“Faster, not harder. Your goal isn’t to hurt me with the first punch, just to distract me. You’re not Yang, you’ll have a sword in a real fight, so stop trying to put all your weight behind every punch.” Pyrrha instructed.

Pyrrha still had reservations about the wooden training gear and the auraless fighting, so for now she opted to help him improve his hand to hand skills. Unfortunately, as it turned out, Jaune wasn’t all that good without his sword and shield.

In his frustration, Jaune ignored her advice and stepped in with a right straight. Pyrrha just nudged it to the side with an open hand. She stepped in, planting her foot on the inside of his lead foot. With her rear leg, she kneed him in the stomach, pulling his head and body down with her free hand. In one clean movement, she planted her rear leg and raised her lead, sweeping his foot as she did. On one leg, bent over and with his head under her control, she had no difficulty throwing him to the floor.

“And stop focusing on your hands so much. The feet, Jaune. Footwork is one of your greatest weapons. If you break your opponent’s roots you break both their defense and their offense.”

Jaune pulled himself back to his feet and took another stance.

“Come on, that’s not your footwork kicking my butt, that’s your stupidly strong defense.” Jaune retorted.

“They’re the same thing and I’ll prove it. In fact, let’s make a competition of it. I won’t move my hands from this position.” She raised her hands in front of her in a fairly ordinary stance. “I bet you won’t be able to land a hit on me without landing on your backside again.”

“You’re like addicted to gambling, I swear.”

_Every time she wants to make a point, she turns it into a bet._

“No, I’m addicted to winning, and this won’t be any different.”

“Fine. What are the terms of the bet then?” he asked.

“If I win, you have to carry me around campus on your shoulders while I recite the importance of footwork. One lap ought to do it.”

“You’ve got be kidding me?” he asked.

“Nope.” She confidently responded. “One lap.”

“Fine! But if I do manage to land a hit on you... You have to carry Nora.”

“Why Nora? What does she have to do with this?”

“Please, you think I’m going to embarrass myself by letting you carry me around. No thanks, you can carry Nora. She doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the word 'embarrassed'.”

Jaune took his stance and when she nodded, he raced in.

He threw lefts and rights, hooks and straights. She slipped through them all without moving her arms an inch.

“You can’t just aim for my head the whole time. It makes you easy to read.”

She’s certainly feeling cocky giving me advice during a bet.

He mixed in shots to her body as well, not that it did him any favors. In response, she rotated her body, using her static arms to deflect the incoming blows or block them.

“You starting to understand why footwork is so important yet?” she mocked.

“I’ll show you footwork!” Jaune declared.

He launched a kick at her leading knee which she avoided by pulling her lead leg back out of the road.

“How’s this for footwork” Jaune cockily added.

He fired another kick.

_Thunk._

Rather than avoiding the kick, she had raised her leg instead. His shin made no contact with the targeted knee, but instead with the bronze greaves she wore.

Fighting off the urge to curse from the pain of the bone on metal collision, Jaune threw another jab.

Pyrrha slipped under it and stepped through his guard. She was close enough for their hips to be touching, and she placed her arms across his chest.

“Time’s up.” She whispered into his ear.

With a twist of her hips, she applied force to his upper body. Jaune tried to step with it to find his feet tangled up with her own. Down he went.

Jaune got up onto one knee, ready to pull himself into a standing position. When he tried to stand though, he felt a weight upon his shoulders. The warmth of his partner’s legs pressed on both sides of his face. She had wasted no time in starting his punishment for losing the bet.

“Up you get Jaune! Onto those oh-so-important feet of yours.” She mocked.

“I’m going to get you back for this someday.”

“I look forward to the day.”

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 11**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 21 (52)**

**Fortitude: 25 (62)**

**Dexterity: 15 (37)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **???**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.

 **[Aura Control: Level 5]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 25%   
All Aura abilities are 50% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 3]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 13(19) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 3]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 13(19) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(225)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 3]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 70(105) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 1]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 11(16) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.5xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 5]**   
Aura Recovery Rate +150% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)  
** Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 30%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 3] (Passive)  
** Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 30%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 15%

 **[Hand to Hand Skill: Level 1] (Passive)  
** Increase damage with all unarmed attacks by 5%  
Increase hit rate with all unarmed attacks by 1%  
Increase unarmed defense efficiency by 5%

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de** **grâce** **!]  
** A finishing blow to an injured opponent.  
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.  
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.  
Cooldown 3 seconds.  
Recharge 60 seconds.


	22. Infiltration I

“Alright! Today is the day we bring down the White Fang!” Ruby excitedly declared.

Jaune smiled as he ran his whetstone down the edge of Crocea Mors. Ruby was as excitable as ever.

“Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, you’re all going to be going with Blake to infiltrate a White Fang meetup. You know what that means?” asked Ruby.

“That we have to follow her lead,” Pyrrha stated.

“We must be ever vigilant.” Ren solemnly added.

“That we got the cool job?” Nora asked.

“Yes to all of those. But more importantly... Disguises!” Ruby exclaimed.

“Disguises?” the three asked.

Blake pulled out a few articles of clothing, several White Fang masks, and a bag of supplies.

“We are going into White Fang territory. They’re Faunus. You’re not. You guys need something, just a tiny addition here and there that you could refer to as your Faunus trait.” Blake explained as she pulled off her bow, revealing her ears.

Nora pulled open the bag and emptied its contents all over the floor. Instantly she jumped on the fluffiest and largest item.

“I tried to pick a few items out that matched your personalities. It’s actually quite insensitive, but it was my idea and our best shot to go through unnoticed. If there is less dissonance between your appearance and how you act, you’ll get fewer looks. Nora’s already got hers, a nice bushy squirrel tail.” Said Blake.

Remaining on the table were two items, both in boxes. Pyrrha grabbed the one closest to her.

“Deluxe ultra-realistic authentic rabbit fur bunny ears...?” Pyrrha read.

Jaune snapped his eyes onto her in an instant.

“Is that one Pyrrha’s?” he eagerly asked.

“Yes, I figured it would suit Pyrrha, a lot of Faunus recognize the natural... attractiveness, that is common is rabbit Faunus. She will draw attention, but not the kind we are worried about.”

Pyrrha pulled the costume ears out and put them on. 

“And no. She can’t keep them once the mission is over.” Blake added to Jaune’s dismay.

Jaune grumbled as Ren picked up the remaining box and read out the label. “Compound eye contact lenses?”

“You were a bit harder to shop for. In the end, we settled on a mantis. Your outfit and your weapons match it perfectly. You paint the perfect image of someone with rare Faunus traits. You dress in a way that points out your heritage, rather than hiding it. Again, we want to be hiding in plain sight. Give them something to talk about that isn’t ‘those new guys look nervous’.” Blake explained. “Make sure you can see with them in though. If you can't see it'll give it away.”

“So that’s team ‘Infiltrate The Enemy’ sorted. Is team ‘Blondie’ prepared?” Ruby asked.

Yang nodded. “I tuned up Bumblebee last night, she’s ready to go. Me and Jaune will ride around on that to get where we need to go.”

“If Yang starts anything I’ll try to contain the collateral damage as best I can.” He promised. Blake passed the bottle over to Yang who squirted him with it before pocketing it for later use.

“Alright, and then me and Weiss-”

“Weiss and I” Weiss corrected.

Ignoring her she continued, “are heading to the CCT. Let’s do this!”

“Yeah!” A voice called from the window.

Everybody turned to see Sun hanging by his tail from a branch outside their window.

“Sun?!” Blake exclaimed.

“How did you get up there?” Yang asked.

“Ah, it’s easy. I do it all the time.” He replied.

“You do what?!” Weiss yelled, hand dropping to her rapier.

“I climb trees all the time.” He replied. “So, are we finally getting back at Blake’s creepy ex-boss?”

“No... That’s for professionals, we’re just students. We wouldn’t get mixed up in all that, right guys?” Ruby unconvincingly lied.

“Yeah. We are.” Jaune answered, causing Ruby to grumble about nobody ever backing her up on her lies.

“Cool, I’m in. More the merrier right? I mean... That’s why I brought Neptune along.” He thrust a thumb toward the window.

Jaune got up and poked his head through the window, as did Weiss, Nora, and Ruby.

“’Sup?” He coolly asked.

It was the first time Jaune had met Neptune. He recalled seeing him hanging out with Sun when they had the food fight though. He was a blue-haired goggle-wearing Bard that personified the word cool.

“How did you even get up here?” Ruby asked.

“I have my ways.” He said with a wink. He looked down to the ground, and then back at the window. His cool persona evaporated almost instantly. “Seriously though, can I come in? We’re like, really high up right now.”

Jaune helped pull him inside, while Ruby resumed finalizing the plans.

“We don’t have any more costumes, so Sun can go with Blake, while Neptune can go with... Me?” Ruby suggested.

“Cool,” Neptune said in agreement, shooting fingers at Ruby.

“I suppose I wouldn’t be against him coming,” Weiss commented.

“Alright then! Complete your mission, and we meet up with Yang when we are done!”

**/-/**

“So this is Bumblebee?” Jaune asked.

He was currently looking at a seriously modified sports motorcycle. It looked exactly like he had expected from Yang. Down to the color and the combustion dust superchargers.

“My pride and joy. I’ve had her since I was 15.” Yang proudly explained.

“And we’re going to be riding on this... together?”

“That’s right. Hop on.” Said Yang as she took her position.

Jaune hopped on behind her, conscious not to sit too close. He brought his feet up onto the footrests and grabbed onto the seat.

Yang strapped on a helmet and revved the engine.

“Yang?!” He yelled over the loud thrum of the engine. “Don’t I get a helmet?”

With that, she rocketed off. Jaune immediately grabbed onto the seat as hard as he could to stop himself from falling off the back. The wind whipped his hair back and stung his eyes as Yang continued to accelerate.

“Make sure you lean with me when I turn!” Yang shouted.

“What?!” He shouted back.

She went around a corner, barely slowing down at all. The whole bike leaned until Jaune’s knees were nearly scraping across the asphalt.

As the bike straightened out, Yang only drove faster and faster. Jaune didn’t even have a chance to get sick, he was too busy panicking about his death. As her speed reached its peak, she even brought the front wheel off the ground. Jaune’s grip on the seat wasn’t good enough for that little maneuver. When she touched down with both wheels, he used the momentum to grab onto Yang's waist with both arms.

Yang shouted something, but he was too distracted to hear it. He just kept holding on as his life depended on it until finally, the ride came to a screeching end.

Yang peeled his arms off from her waist and dismounted the bike.

“Crybaby.” She mocked. “Come on, let’s go inside. I’ll introduce you to the guy I know.”

Jaune slid off the seat onto his still shaky legs. He did not comment on the fact that he already knew who Junior was. Tonight he planned to pretend like they had never met and let Yang do most of the talking. He was just there in case she decided to trash the joint again.

Speaking of, Yang's arrival was already causing chaos. A pair of Junior's men were running away from Yang as she confidently marched to the entrance. They were shouting, loudly, telling the others to close the door because ‘she’s back’.

Jaune jogged up to her. “We don’t look very welcome this time.”

“You just need to know the secret knock.”

_The secret knock?_

Yang cocked her fist back, activated her gauntlets, and blasted the doors open. Several men behind the door were sent flying.

“Guess who’s back?!” She yelled as she walked through the now open door.

Jaune followed her, only to have the barrels of easily a dozen rifles point at both he and Yang.

“Woah! Hey, no need to be hasty, right guys? Wouldn’t be right to turn away potential business, would it?” Jaune asked with a nervous laugh.

“Stop, stop! Nobody shoot.” Junior pushed his way through his men to speak with them face to face. “Blondie! You’re here. And you brought...”

Jaune subtly shook his head. He tried his best to telepathically communicate that he doesn’t want to be recognized.

“A friend. Why?” he asked, successfully reading Jaune’s intent.

Yang, with the confidence of a woman who didn’t understand the word ‘consequences’, grabbed Junior by the arm.

“You still owe me a drink,” she said as she began dragging him away to the bar.

Jaune, as politely as he could, pushed his way through the crowd to follow them.

“Hang on cutie, wouldn’t you rather spend time with us?” a sultry voice called from the side.

“Is he cute? I think he looks kind of dangerous with that sword on his hip.” A near-identical voice followed.

Jaune looked toward where he heard the voices to see two girls staring him down. They were almost carbon copies of each other, twins without a doubt. Their outfit's color was almost the only attribute that separated them.

“I like dangerous though. Makes it that much more satisfying when they’re begging me to stop. Don’t you think so Militia?” The left-most sister in all white asked.

“You’re right. Doesn’t get much cuter than that Melanie. So how about it cutie, want to spend some time with us?” said Militia, the sister dressed in all red and wielding a set of claws on each hand.

“I’m kind of in the middle of something though...” Jaune explained. He wasn’t used to this kind of attention, nor this kind of woman. Something felt off about them, he just couldn’t tell what.

“We promise you’ll have much more fun with us.” Said Militia.

“Much more fun,” Melanie confirmed.

“Hey, Lady-Killer! When you’re done flirting with death, you can come to join us at the bar.” Yang shouted from across the room.

“Sorry, gotta go!” he said to the twins, earning a click of the tongue from both in response.

Jaune raced over to take a position beside Yang.

“Sorry, I was trying to be polite.” He explained.

“Polite? I could feel their bloodlust from over here. Junior, back me up here. Would they, or would they not, have totally torn Lover-Boy here a new one?” Yang asked.

“Oh without a doubt. They wouldn’t have killed him though, probably. Just roughed him up a little to piss you off blondie.” Junior responded without a hint of it being a joke.

“You could tell that from over here? There’s no way you could hear what they were saying over this music.” Said Jaune.

“Don’t need to hear it. You can feel it. They were like Grimm circling their prey, I stepped in because I knew they were going to eat you up.”

Jaune shot her a confused look.

“You’re kidding, right? Blood lust? Malicious intent? That irritating feeling in the back of your skull like you’re being watched? Any of that ring a bell? Those two were looking to start something. Everyone in here could feel it, you were making us all tense just standing there talking to them like you did. It was like a mouse flirting with two lionesses.”

Jaune filed that piece of info away for further research later. For now, though he had a feeling his antics were distracting them from the reason they came here.

“Moving on from that, does he have any good news for us?” asked Jaune.

Junior put down the glass he was cleaning. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told her, doesn’t matter how many times you ask me. I don’t got anything for you. I don’t know nothing about any damn terrorists, I don’t deal with them because they’re bad for business. As for Roman, I haven’t seen him since the last time I saw you. He paid upfront, I lent him my men, and none of them ever came back.”

“Oh. Yeah, that was probably my bad. He took your guys out for a dust robbery and a friend and I kind of knocked all your guys out then chased him off. They’re probably in jail or something if you want to get them back.” Jaune mentioned.

The temperature of the room felt like it dropped a few degrees.

“Do you feel it now Jaune? That is blood lust.” Said Yang.

Jaune did have the common sense to take a step back from the man who looked like he was about to blow.

“Should we go then? I mean, we don’t want to cause a scene, and he doesn’t have any information for us.” Jaune suggested.

Yang nodded and the pair began to leave. “We got everything we can, even if it was a total bust. Hopefully, the rest of the team is having better luck.”

As they returned to their ride, both of their phones went off.

“Oh good, maybe they learned something.” Jaune idly commented as he answered the call.

“Heeeeelp!!” Sun yelled through the phone. “Giant Robot! Torchwick guy is in it! Bunch of crazy dudes with guns! I think one of them has a chainsaw!”

“Where are you guys?” Yang asked.

At that exact moment, a blur of steel and flashing red lights stomped its way past the alley. The sound of metal footsteps and distant somewhat-girly screaming filed the air.

“That’s them. Yang, let’s go!” Jaune shouted, jumping on the back of the bike and grabbing on tight.

“Got it!” she replied as she ignited the engine and spun the wheels around to begin the chase.

The way they were headed, it looked like Blake and the others were leading them towards a highway. A good decision for not just the property damage that they’d avoid, but the terrain advantage. If the guy with the chainsaw is here, that means the rest of that team will be too. The less complex terrain they have, the easier it will be to deal with the sniper.

“Jaune, we’ve got to help them!” Yang shouted as she got onto the highway.

Jaune could see Adam’s team of soldiers riding on the back of the mech. They were taking shots at the group ahead of them, making it that much harder for them to stay ahead.

“What the hell am I supposed to do about that?” he shouted back.

“Hold on!” she ordered, accelerating towards the giant mech.

Yang began slipping between the cars that came flying their way. Torchwick was shoving and flipping them out of his road to catch up to the others. They jumped from car to car almost as easily as if they were on solid ground, maintaining the distance.

As Yang finally closed the gap, Jaune decided to do something incredibly stupid.

“Keep it steady, but don’t slow down.” He ordered.

Jaune carefully brought his feet up off the footrests and onto the seat itself. The wind itself threatened to blow him backward, but he forced himself to stand. For a guy who had never even been surfing or skateboarding, his balance was holding quite well.

**[For honing your reflexes and centering your balance your dexterity has-**

_Don’t have time for notifications._

Jaune kicked off the seat and drew his sword from its sheathe.

“Leap Slam!” he shouted, activating the skill.

Jaune flew through the air and landed on the back of the robot, forcing his sword into it to help him gain a foothold.

No sooner than he gained his footing, he was forced to duck as an axe flew over his head. He could feel something coming from his left, so he quickly activated his shield and brought it up. The shotgun round smashed into his guard not a second after.

_I guess that was bloodlust? No time to think._

Jaune lashed out with his sword at everyone nearby. He didn’t need to win this fight, just distract them long enough for backup to arrive. He tucked his feet into the steadiest spot he could find. Now grounded, he did his best to attack and defend the four of them simultaneously. It seemed they were no more used to fighting atop a dashing robot. Even working together, they struggled to keep him at bay.

The turning point was when suddenly the whole robot lurched and began sliding over the ledge. Weiss had managed to catch up and freeze the road, causing it to slip out of control.

Now in free fall, Jaune’s feet disconnected from the vehicle. The robot and all its passengers slammed into the ground several dozen meters below.

_Well, that was a bad landing strategy._

“Get up partner! The fight’s not over yet.” Pyrrha said, pulling him to his feet a few seconds later.

“Right right. Ruby!” he shouted, trying to gain the younger girl's attention. “You and your team handle the mech. We will handle these four. We’ve done it before.”

Ruby nodded.

“Ren, I don’t know where that sniper is but you’re on lookout. We’re not chasing him this time, the rest of his team are just strong enough that we can’t spare splitting up like that. Just keep us informed. I’ll take the woodcutter, Pyrrha you handle the big guy. Ren, Nora, interference, and zone control.”

“Got it!” They each replied.

“Freezerburn!” Ruby called out.

Her call triggered a combo-attack between Yang and Weiss that filled the area with thick fog.

_Looks like they’ve got that handled._

Jaune led his team and their opponent’s away from the fight between team RWBY and Roman. In this situation, they were more likely to get under each other’s feet.

Jaune channeled his aura through his body and into his blade, preparing himself for the fight ahead. He had his role to play in this fight. The sooner he fulfilled it, the sooner he could help his team with the more troublesome opponents.

_I’ll break his weapon again and then-_

The rapid-fire of multiple assault rifles broke Jaune out of his pre-fight thoughts. It seems they came prepared this time and stocked up on some new equipment. Adam’s team was constantly getting stronger. New equipment, new members, it wasn’t good.

Jaune raced in, deflecting the bullets with his shield. His opponent fired until empty and then for good measure he threw the weapon at him as well.

“They can teach you how to shoot, but that doesn’t make you a better fighter!” Jaune taunted, flicking his blade out at his opponent’s face.

The man deflected it with the face of his axe before countering with a heavy blow of his own.

Just as he had last time, Jaune aimed for the handle of the weapon with his counter.

“Heavy Slam!” Jaune said, activating the skill.

_Clang_

The sound of steel on steel rang out.

_That can’t be, right?_

The man’s axe was without its wooden handle and instead had a fully reinforced steel handle that was actually painted to look like wood.

“Surprised? It didn’t feel right without the grain pattern, but the steel sure helps.” his opponent quipped as he landed a clean blow on Jaune with his axe.

Jaune’s aura held, but he couldn't dodge while recovering from his skill use. The attack had dealt considerable damage. One or two more clean blows like that and he would have to back out of the fight.

“Checkmate!” He heard Ruby call out as her battle with Roman continued.

Jaune and his axe wielding foe traded blows carefully. Neither one managing to land a blow through the other's defenses. Even with Jaune’s enhanced stats, he was having trouble landing a blow.

“What the hell has he been doing to get you guys this strong?” Jaune asked as he blocked another blow with this shield.

“You’d be surprised what a few months of killing Grimm and humans will do for your level. Or maybe you wouldn’t. Murderer.” He replied, counter a shield bash from Jaune with an offhand strike of his own.

_Of course. I shouldn’t have expected his level to stay the same just because he is a Lumberjack. Anyone can gain levels quickly if they dedicate enough time to it. I’m the only one who has to do things the slow way._

“Jaune, on your left, move!” Ren shouted.

Jaune lifted his shield to protect as much of his body as possible. A bullet slammed into his leg, forcing him to a knee. Jaune rolled with the fall to avoid the follow-up strike from his opponent. As much as that hurt, thanks to Ren’s warning he only lost a chunk of his aura, instead of a chunk of flesh.

“Ladybug!” Ruby shouted.

_I wish my fight was going as smoothly as theirs._

No sooner than he had thought it, Yang was punched through a concrete pylon by the mech.

“Shit. Is Yang okay?!” He called out.

“Don’t worry! You know how her Semblance works after all.” Ruby replied.

Yang slowly stood to her feet. Jaune dodged away from his opponent, leading him further away from the one that had shot at him. The retreat gave Jaune the time to watch as Yang stopped the fist of the mech dead in its tracks with a single hair. Her Semblance was fully active now, and her hair-

_Fire._

_Run._

_You’re going to die. You’re going to die._

Jaune tried to ignore the voice in his head, his voice. The voice telling him to run as fast as he could away from her. But it just got louder and louder as time went on.

_Can’t run. Protect your friends._

_They need you._

_Can’t run._

_Fight._

Jaune saw red. Literally. He so desperately wanted to run from the inferno which blazed in his mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave his friends behind.

“I won’t let you hurt them or me again!” Jaune shouted in a frenzy.

He pulled more of his aura from his shield and forced it into his muscles. Pushing them beyond what they would normally be capable of handling. He had to.

Jaune attacked and attacked, leaving no room for his opponent to strike back. His axe was too heavy and Jaune’s speed too high to leave enough time for a counter-attack. A strike glanced off a poorly angled block and slid down the handle, smashing into his opponent's hand. His opponent flinched, releasing his grip on the weapon with that hand. Jaune deactivated his shield and grabbed his opponent's weapon by the handle. Jaune maneuvered his sword under his opponent's active arm. With a twist, he pressed the blade against his opponent's forearm. The axe was wrenched out of his opponent's hand and thrown away.

Without a weapon to defend with, he was defenseless against Jaune's onslaught. Jaune rained blows onto his legs and arms as his opponent tried to protect his body and face from Jaune’s sword. His aura wouldn’t hold out forever, and his legs certainly didn’t. He collapsed to the ground and tried to crawl toward his weapon.

Jaune could hear the shouting of his friends as they fought off the White Fang at the docks. He knew not what they were saying for their words were drowned out by the beating of his heart in his ears.

Jaune struck at the man’s back as he crawled, seeking to land a definitive finishing blow. Two or three more shots fell upon his opponent as he tried to escape until finally, his aura shattered.

_He doesn’t need aura to kill them, to kill you._

_They’ll keep coming back._

_Finish this._

Seeking to defend himself, Jaune’s opponent rolled onto his back, throwing his hands up in desperation. Jaune swung once more with the intent to finish it once and for all. When his target screamed in pain and fear, the fog in Jaune's mind was dispelled.

Jaune could see the truth now. He’d forgotten from the stress and the perceived threat, but this man was unarmed and his aura shattered. Jaune was going to kill this man, and despite his last-second attempts to pull away, his blade struck deep.

_Thunk_

The man howled in pain. Jaune didn’t know what had happened, but his sword had barely cut more than a few inches into the man’s flesh. His whole body looked like it was covered in the bark of a tree. A material tough enough to hold his sword steady as it hung from his wrist.

Jaune ripped his blade out of the man’s arm and ran before falling onto the ground in shock several dozen meters on.

_I nearly killed that guy. It wasn’t even in self-defense either. I’m... I’m-_

“Jaune!” He heard his partner shout.

He turned his head towards the sound, and he saw his team racing toward him.

“What about the-”

“They’re gone. It’s safe, you’re safe. Someone appeared after team RWBY took out the robot and took them away. It’s just us now.” She explained.

“Pyrrha... I... I nearly killed-”

Interrupting him again she wrapped her arms around him, pulling his face into her chest. “It’s okay Jaune. You didn’t do it. I saw what happened, you don’t have to explain a thing. I’ll tell everyone else but for now, we need to get you back to Beacon.”

Jaune didn’t understand what she meant. Why the rush to get back to Beacon. Shouldn’t he explain what happened? Yang and Ruby, his team, they had all seen him nearly kill that guy.

“I need to tell them, I don’t want them to-”

“No! You need to get back and recover. The adrenaline is masking it, but you're hurt. Your whole body looks like one giant bruise.” she interrupted once more.

Pyrrha lifted him, taking one arm over her shoulders. Ren quickly moved in to take the other and support him.

“Ren I didn’t mean to. I didn’t, I-”

“You can tell me when we get back to Beacon. For now, just focus on walking.”

Jaune could only nod, and try to get his legs to cooperate. As he hobbled along he could finally observe his status. He knew he was injured from the way his body was struggling, but the system was buzzing in his mind.

**You are suffering from Right Arm Muscle Tears (Moderate).**

**You are suffering from Left Arm Muscle Tears (Mild).**

**You are suffering from Right Leg Muscle Tears (Mild).**

**You are suffering from Left Leg Muscle Tears (Mild).**

**[Muscle Augmentation] is now level 2.  
** 12(18) % Increased weapon damage. (+2%)   
Maximum Strength/Dexterity is now 1.6xFortitude

He barely could piece together the reasons for these injuries. His memory of everything that had happened was getting hazy. He was getting tired too.

Jaune tried to blink away the tiredness. Each blink lasted longer than the last until finally, he passed out.

**/-/**

Jaune awoke to the sight of his dorm room. His body was sore. Not just from the injuries that he could feel reacting as he pulled himself upright either. Sleeping in his armor for however long it had been having left him stiff. He struggled out of it as soon as he could convince his body to move the way he wanted it to. The less weight he had to carry the better for the time being.

Looking out a window he could see it was still night time. What he couldn’t see was his teammates.

_They’re probably with team RWBY._

Jaune grabbed his weapon and used it as a makeshift walking stick to support his legs. He was able to walk on them now, his aura had done a good job of recovering him so far. But he still wanted the safety net in case he fell.

He made it to the door of their room and knocked.

It didn’t take long at all before the door was opened by Ruby. Seeing him, she paused for a second. She looked hesitant, but the emotion passed as soon as it had appeared and she helped him inside.

“Hey, guys.” He said.

As expected all the members of tonight’s activities were here. No doubt they were discussing what they had learned. He made his way over to where Pyrrha was and took a seat beside her.

Jaune ignored his usual inhibitions and took Pyrrha's hand within his own. After what he'd just been through, he had a desire for some support. His embarrassment could wait.

The room was quiet as he settled in, and so Jaune was the first person to speak.

“How much did Pyrrha explain?” He asked.

“As much as she could. You told us that you froze up when you see flames. Nothing about freaking out and nearly…” Weiss’ reply trailed off.

“Killing someone in cold blood? Yeah, it was new for me as well. I think the stress of fighting and the similarities between tonight and that time took me over the edge. Occasionally, it’s like I’m back there with my life in balance. It’s fight or flight you know?”

“Then why didn’t you run?” Ren asked.

“How could I? My friends, all of you, were fighting. Ruby, Yang, Weiss, and Blake fought against Vale’s most wanted piloting a giant robot. You, Pyrrha, and Nora fought against the White Fang’s soldiers who were specially trained by Adam. There was no way I could just run and leave you to fight outnumbered. I had to fight. They… All of those guys are getting stronger. They’re improving at a rate that’s even faster than our own. They’re not skilled fighters, but their level is climbing as they fight off Grimm... and anyone else that gets in their way.”

“You’re not wrong. I noticed much the same myself. Under normal conditions, you and Nora would be weaker than I am.” Said Pyrrha. When no one debated her she continued. “When you and Nora fought against the one with the chainsaw, it was more or less to your favor. But last night he fought me to a draw for quite some time. Longer than anyone else here could I’d wager.”

“Exactly, and that was with your Semblance too. Your opponent doesn't have one that we know of. But even that advantage won’t last forever. My opponent unlocked his when… when-”

Ruby interrupted. “Jaune, it’s okay. You don’t have to be ashamed of it.”

“Ruby?” Yang sounded confused.

“My uncle Qrow refused to teach me how to fight with a scythe until I knew how fragile and important life is. This weapon of mine, it’s made to kill. Not just Grimm, but anything, from any distance. We’re going to be huntsmen and huntresses, and that means we will be fighting people and Grimm alike. But you already know that Jaune, don’t you?” said Ruby.

“How do-”

“I heard what that guy was saying. He wasn’t exactly quiet about it. He called you a murderer. I don’t think for a second you are one, of course, but you killed one of them in the past. Am I wrong?” Ruby asked.

“No…” Jaune answered. “It wasn’t intentional, his aura had already been weakened earlier that day. My sword cut into him pretty deep and I guess they couldn’t patch him up in time while they were escaping. I’m not proud of it. If I’d been stronger I could have disabled him without killing him. But it was him, or me, Pyrrha and who knows who else. That’s how it was tonight as well.”

“And that’s why you shouldn’t be ashamed of it Jaune. You weren’t thinking clearly yet you still put your team first.” Ruby surprisingly crossed the room and placed her hand on his head, patting him gently. “You’re not like them. We aren’t like them. Frankly, I think I would have been more surprised if you did run.”

“Even if Jaune’s freak out isn’t a problem we still have a White Fang army out there to deal with. What do we do about it?” Weiss asked.

“We’re not going to be able to just sneak into another meet up again. But… Maybe we don’t need to. There was one thing we learned last night.” Said Blake.

“There was?” Nora asked.

Pyrrha nodded. “Something about an operation in the South-East where they were putting a lot of their manpower.”

“Exactly!” Blake exclaimed. “All we have to do is do some research, maybe a little bit of scouting. An operation as big as what they must be planning will be hard to find.”

“Maybe we should slow down for now actually…” said Jaune.

“What?! We’ve got them on the ropes, how can you be thinking of backing off now?” Blake looked almost offended by the suggestion.

“We haven’t ‘got them on the ropes’ at all. We fought them 10 on 5 and they got away. All they lost was a robot which they have already shown to be capable of acquiring by themselves. In exchange they got information and one of them has a new Semblance. How strong do you think they’re going to get in the time it takes us to find them? How many of them do you think there will be? I think maybe we should focus on getting stronger ourselves and stopping them here in Vale. Rather than trekking out into the wilderness where no one can help us.” Said Jaune

The room gave a variety of responses but most were in agreement.

“We have that dance coming up too, and then we get assigned our first away-missions too. Then the Vytal Festival is right after that. I think it’s a good idea.” Said Yang.

“Do what you want. I’m going to make sure the White Fang can’t hurt anyone else. I’m surprised you’re not on my side with this Jaune, you know what they can do.” Blake stated.

Jaune got up from his seat beside Pyrrha and walked over to stand right before Blake.

“You’re right, I do know what they can do.” He said as he slowly pulled his hoodie and shirt over his head.

The bruising had developed fully while he had rested. In areas it was beginning to heal, turning from purple to yellow. But from just above the wrist to his chest on both arms, as well as his lower torso and below, he was covered in bruises.

“This is what they do Blake. I fought one guy, not even one of their strongest. He’s a lumberjack with an axe. I know I’m the weakest person in this room right now, but do you think you can fight an army? Would you put Ruby or Yang or Weiss in that position... Like you did with me and Sun by the docks?”

It was a low blow and he knew it. He’d seen how guilty she had been as a result. Her recent actions were proof of that. The way she helped him during recovery and how she always turned to him when the White Fang was involved.

“I…” Blake stammered before she turned and walked away.

“Blake!” Ruby called out.

“It’s okay Ruby, she won’t run away again, not over this. But it might be best if I left so that she could come back. She needed to hear what I said, but that doesn’t mean it hurt her any less. Tell her I’m sorry when you see her again and look after her.” Jaune requested.

Ruby nodded, as did Yang.

“We will.” Said Yang.

“She’s our teammate.” Added Ruby.

“Even if she is a dunce sometimes.” Finished Weiss.

Jaune pulled his clothes back on and headed back to his dorm. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora followed suit.

His bruises would be healed by morning, and when they were, it would be back to training all over again.

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 11**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 21 (52)**

**Fortitude: 25 (62)**

**Dexterity: 16 (40) [+3]**

**Aura: 30/30**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **???**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.

 **[Aura Control: Level 5]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 25%   
All Aura abilities are 50% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 3]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 13(19) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 3]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 13(19) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(225)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 3]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 70(105) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 2]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 12(18) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.6xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 5]**   
Aura Recovery Rate +150% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 4] (Passive)  
** Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 6] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 60%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 6%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 30%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 3] (Passive)  
** Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 30%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 15%

 **[Hand to Hand Skill: Level 1] (Passive)  
** Increase damage with all unarmed attacks by 5%  
Increase hit rate with all unarmed attacks by 1%  
Increase unarmed defense efficiency by 5%

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de** **grâce** **!]  
** A finishing blow to an injured opponent.  
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.  
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.  
Cooldown 3 seconds.  
Recharge 60 seconds.


	23. Interlude I Pyrrha

Jaune eyed his scroll intensely through screwed-up eyes.

_Just a few more seconds..._

His legs shook, threatening to destabilize his entire body. His arms felt like they were about to burst.

His scroll alarm began to blare and Jaune let himself fall to the ground.

_This is hard... I wish there was a better way than this to level my muscle augmentation skill._

Jaune had learned the hard way how to become more proficient in that skill. When he had pushed himself too far and injured himself the last time, he’d leveled up. Exceeding your limits was in itself the method for expanding your limits.

But saying it was a lot easier than doing it.

If Jaune wanted the training to be efficient, he had to keep himself just barely above his limits. He had to endure the sensation of his muscles slowly breaking and re-healing. It was like being at the peak of your endurance during a push-up marathon but with your whole body.

Still, as hard as the training was, Jaune couldn’t say he was at all unmotivated to do it.

With each level, the amount of strength and dexterity he could gain increased by 10% of his fortitude. It became more efficient as well, requiring less aura to produce an effect as his level rose.

For the skill that formed the foundation of his current fighting style, it was a huge deal. Every level he could squeeze out would bring him that much closer to his peers.

Jaune’s scroll began to ring. Not the same ring as the alarm he had set, but a call.

“Hands-free,” Jaune grunted, too exhausted to get up and answer it. “Hello?”

“Hello Jaune!” it was Pyrrha. “I’m heading into town to do some shopping. Would you like to join me? It shouldn’t take long, but I wouldn’t mind the company.”

Jaune scanned his own body which was still a bit shaky. Frankly, he felt like jelly.

“When? I’ve been training so I wouldn’t mind a shower at least.” Jaune asked.

“Now if you could, better to get it over and done with and have the afternoon off in my opinion,” Pyrrha replied.

_Ugh. Just my luck. Still..._

“Sure. I’ll come back to the dorm now. See you in... I’ll see you when I see you.” Jaune ended the call by stretching his legs and pressing the button on his scroll with his foot.

_Welp, time to get moving._

**/-/**

“Feel better after a shower?” Pyrrha asked with a teasing grin.

“I feel better yes, no thanks to you,” Jaune grumbled without any real heat.

“How was I supposed to know you were that shaky on your feet? It was a simple pat on the shoulder. We both know Nora does way worse.” Pyrrha defended.

Jaune waved his hand in her face as if to shoo the discussion away.

“No disguise today?” Jaune asked.

“It’s a weekday after lunch. Everyone should be at work right now and I much prefer the comfort of my usual outfit.” Pyrrha replied.

Jaune raised an eyebrow. He’d never thought of it until now, but why did she wear that outfit so often.

“What is it about the armor that you like so much? It can’t be because it’s comfortable.”

“Would you believe me if I said it’s because I want to be prepared for any situation?” Pyrrha asked.

“I’d have believed it if you had have said it straight and not posed it as a question,” Jaune replied.

Pyrrha huffed.

“Fine. It’s because I like how it looks. I’m not a ‘cute’ girl who can pull of frilly skirts. I’m too muscular. Armor suits me.”

“Are you dumb?” Jaune replied on instinct. Pyrrha looked as shocked as he felt. “What I mean is; you’re not too muscular at all. That’s like saying Yang is too muscular, she’s just as strong as you are.”

“Okay, first things first, Yang is not as strong as I am. I’m way stronger.” Pyrrha replied and Jaune had to admit she was probably right. “But fine. Out you get, give me a few minutes.”

Jaune was corralled out of the room and the door was shut behind him. A few minutes later Pyrrha emerged.

She was wearing a simple white off the shoulder top with a denim mini-skirt.

She caught Jaune staring so she gave him a quick spin.

Her top was just short enough that if she lifted her arms he could see a hint of her midriff. Without her armor, her legs were on much greater display too. Jaune couldn’t deny that his partner was toned, but he’d never go so far as to call her ‘too muscular’.

“Ready now?” Jaune asked, making sure not to verbalize his thoughts.

“Mhm! Let’s go.”

**/-/**

“-I still don’t think this kind of training is good for you,” Pyrrha replied.

They had been walking for a little while now, setting a comfortable pace along the city streets.

“All training is good for me, I think everyone can agree on that. I just don’t understand why you don’t use this kind of technique as well. Ren doesn’t have huge aura reserves, but he makes it work.” Jaune stated.

“It’s just an issue of time management. Between Semblance training, form practice, and trying to increase my level, I don’t have much left. You’re only able to because you’ve got aura to throw at all of your problems. We’re here by the way.” Pyrrha said, pointing to the nearest store.

It was a dust store, but not the one he had visited in the past. Jaune doubled back a few steps and followed Pyrrha inside.

“Ah! Miss Nikos!” A man from behind the counter exclaimed as they entered. “I’ve been waiting for you to come ever since I got the order.”

The man who must be the owner or manager of this store practically shoved Jaune aside to shake Pyrrha’s hand.

“We have much to discuss, I have a few ideas that I’m sure you will find quite agreeable!”

Jaune could have easily stood his ground and pushed back. the only reason he didn't was Pyrrha giving him a look that begged for his patience. Jaune decided to wander around the store instead.

There was less dust than he’d been expecting for a dust store. He’d heard that the city was facing a few issues with dust supply, but he didn’t realize it was this bad. The prices were all almost double of what he remembered a few months back.

“I’m sorry, if you’re looking for an endorsement, that’s something you should speak with my manager about. I’m just here to pick up what I ordered and get back to classes.” Pyrrha lied.

Today they both had the day off as it was the day that Ms. Goodwitch trained the mage-class students. In theory, with her Semblance, Pyrrha was welcome. Anyone with an interest in dust or long-range abilities was. She just preferred self-study instead.

“Come now, I know you do quite well for yourself. But surely an aspiring huntress can understand the value of a good deal? You won’t find a bargain like this anywhere else.” The man continued to push.

“Hey!” Jaune called out, trying to divide the man’s attention. “Do you mix dust here, or do we have to do that ourselves?”

“I’m sorry sir, I’m dealing with an important customer right now. You’ll have to wait.” The man replied before turning his back to Jaune.

_Wow. Okay then._

“I’m happy paying the regular rate. If you could just-“ Pyrrha tried once more.

“Nonsense. It would just be a small part of your day, an hour at most. Think of how this affects me? It’s not easy being a dust salesman nowadays.”

Jaune was getting sick of hearing this guy. He kept pushing and pushing despite Pyrrha’s clear refusals.

_Time for a slightly bigger distraction._

Just as there had been in the store he visited with Ruby, there was a small rack of magazines. The legs of the display stuck out barely an inch past the other counters.

Jaune kicked the magazine stand with enough force to send it clattering to the ground. Jaune ‘tripped’ with it, landing in a heap with several dozen magazines all over the store. There wouldn’t be any damage, but there was a hell of a mess.

“Ah! Miss Nikos, I’m sorry but I must deal with this fool. Just a few minutes-“

“No no! Don’t worry about me. I’ll clean all this up. Just finish selling whatever you were selling, she looks like she is quite busy after all.” Jaune interrupted.

His acting wasn’t great, but Pyrrha caught on pretty quick.

“I do have several places to be after this.” Pyrrha idly commented. “If you wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course, of course! I’ll ring it up for you now.” The manager hastily replied.

While he was focused on getting Pyrrha’s package, Jaune made his way out of the store and hid down an alleyway.

A minute later Pyrrha exited the building. Jaune waved her down as she looked around, but hid back around the corner when the manager’s head popped out.

“Typical! Some people just go out of their way to be a nuisance.” The manager loudly complained.

Pyrrha entered the alleyway a few seconds later.

“I can’t believe you just did that.” She laughed.

“After everything I have done, that’s what you can’t believe? Give me a little credit.” Jaune replied.

“I don’t think this is the kind of thing you should be asking for credit for Jaune. But I suppose I should be thanking you for getting him off my back.”

“It’s fine. He was being pretty rude so I did it for me as well. Is this what you have to deal with all the time?” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha and Jaune exited the alleyway and she led the way to wherever her next destination was.

“Not all the time, and usually shop owners aren’t the problem. It’s usually-”

“Oh my god is that Pyrrha Nikos?!” someone shouted.

“It is!”

“It’s the invincible girl!”

“I’m your biggest fan!”

“Can I get a photo?!”

“Me too!”

“Me too!!”

The crowd materialized in seconds as a group of school-aged students recognized Pyrrha. They all rushed forward in a cacophony of questions and requests. As they surrounded Pyrrha, Jaune was once again shoved to the side.

Cameras flashed as everyone scrambled to get their selfie with the champ.

“You should totally come hang with us!”

“Yeah, we all ditched today so we’ve got loads of time to hang out!”

“You should meet my brother, he totally has the hots for you. You guys would be cute together.”

_Welp, that’s enough of that._

Jaune activated his boosted his strength and picked up the two closest boys by their collar. He wasn’t rough with them, they hadn’t done anything after all, but he did toss them out of the road.

“Need a hand?” Jaune asked before sweeping Pyrrha over his shoulder.

“Jaune!?” Pyrrha gasped.

She frantically reached down to hold her skirt between her legs. Jaune meanwhile kicked off the ground, putting a dozen meters between them and the crowd. Before they’d even had a chance to process what he’d done, he took off running.

“Jaune! Put me down already!” She shouted after he’d covered several city blocks.

“Alright, alright,” Jaune replied, lowering her to the ground.

She brushed herself off, fixing her outfit which had become roughed up in places from the dash.

“Jeeze... I had that under control you know. A few photos and they would have been satisfied.” She stated.

Jaune shrugged.

“Honestly... There’s one more stop, let’s get this out of the way before you come up with another way to end up on social media.”

“Sounds good to me. Where are we headed?” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha pointed at a store across the road from them; ‘Tukson’s book trade’.

“We’re buying books?” Jaune asked.

“Not exactly. Come on.” Pyrrha said, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him along.

She took him inside the store and over to a shelf that was lined with comics. Jaune spotted a few that he recognized. Apparently so did Pyrrha.

“Oh! Great, they kept the last few issues for sale. It’s been ages since I caught up.” Pyrrha exclaimed, picking up a few different magazines.

“Wait, you ready X-ray and Vav?” Jaune asked.

“Uhh, duh? Did you think I took them off you while we studied and just pretended to look at the pictures? I love this series.” She replied.

“If I’d known that, I could’ve bought these for you any time. We could read them together. If you want to, I mean.”

Pyrrha’s eyes sparkled.

“I would love that!”

Her smile didn’t fade until long after they had read through the volumes later that night.


	24. Interlude II Oz

“You wanted to see me Oz?” Jaune asked.

“I did yes. I’ve got a few errands I need you to run.” Oz replied.

“Oh. Uh, okay I guess you did mention something about that a while ago. What do you need?”

Ozpin pulled a stack of papers out of his drawer, and slammed them on the desk. By all rights they shouldn’t have fit in there.

“I need you to take all of these and photocopy them in the teacher’s lounge and then bring them back to me,” Oz explained.

“This is going to take like 2 hours! There has to be over 500 pages here!” Jaune complained.

“Don’t exaggerate Mr. Arc, there are 498. Now if you could hurry please, I need the copies and the originals back as soon as possible.” Oz firmly stated.

Jaune sighed, picked up the stack, and trudged out of his office.

**/-/**

Jaune pulled page number 24 out of the copier. He then placed it on the embarrassingly small stack of completed papers.

_He hasn’t even trained me properly yet and he has me out here working like a slave..._

“Oho! Mr. Arc, you’re just the tall strapping lad I was looking for.”

Jaune turned around after pressing the copy button to address the professor.

“You were looking for me, professor?” Jaune asked.

“Not you specifically, but you’ll do. I need help moving some of the taxidermy recreations from my classroom to the storage shed and back. You all know what a Beowolf looks like now, so it’s time to change them out.” The professor explained.

“Actually... I’m kind of busy with something at the moment. I’m sure Cardin or someone from his team would be happy to help?” Jaune offered, throwing the entire team under the bus.

“Nonsense my boy! You’re here and I’m sure you’d be happy to have a break from such mind-numbing work. You’ll be doing me a favor and you can consider it training. They’re not light after all. Come now, we should get to work.” The professor forcefully insisted.

Jaune looked wistfully at the photocopier as he was almost dragged away by the professor.

**/-/**

“That’s it, right over there!”

“No, perhaps an inch to the left.”

“I’ve changed my mind, bring in the guardian Boarbatusk instead. He looks much more fearsome.”

The professor sat at his desk eating his lunch. Occasionally he barked commands while Jaune lugged the various Grimm around the classroom. It was physically exhausting work after having had to lug them across the school to get here. But the professor's constant nitpicking was draining his mental energy too.

“Perhaps we should mount it on the wall. Hold it over your head so I can see what it looks like from a different angle.” Professor Port requested.

Jaune boosted his strength and lifted the bulk overhead. He was thankful for both his training in the skill and for the fact that these weren’t real Grimm. If they had been full of something heavier than stuffing, he would have passed out already.

“Yes, magnificent! That is the perfect spot. Now we just need to find the best way to make the others fit in too.”

Jaune groaned.

**/-/**

An hour and a half later, Jaune dragged himself back to the printer.

_Here goes page 25. I can’t believe I’m saying this but thank god I’ve got a chance to just relax and press this button for a while..._

“Mr. Arc! You’re just the bright young man that I was looking for!” Doctor Oobleck stated.

“Ahh sorry, I’m actually really busy with a super important job from the headmaster,” Jaune replied trying to ward off any potential requests.

“So I’ve heard! It was good of you to volunteer your services to the teaching staff for the day. I require such assistance as well.”

“What, no. I didn’t-”

“But I just finished hearing from Peter how good a job you did assisting him. Surely you wouldn’t be so cruel as to have me be the odd one out! Come come, I need all the desks in my classroom cleaned.”

The professor sped off, leaving Jaune unable to protest.

With a small whine, Jaune headed to the amphitheater.

**/-/**

“Why is there so much gum?! I don’t even see people eating this much gum. I don’t think I’ve seen someone eat gum ever.” Jaune loudly complained.

“It’s the higher years mostly. You’d be surprised how much three classes of 12 can go through in a week. Now tell me, do you think I should sort these blends alphabetically, geographically, or by quality? I’m leaning towards alphabetical, but that means I have to put Atlesian Black first and it is not a top-shelf blend.”

Jaune looked up from his position under the desk to shoot the professor a very irritated look. It went unnoticed as the professor calmly enjoyed his fresh drink and stared at his wall of beans. When Jaune realized he was going to be ignored, he got back to scraping.

For several minutes Jaune cleaned the desks to the tune of the professor's incessant muttering. Eventually, though, there was an interruption.

“Good afternoon Bart.”

Is that Ms. Goodwitch?

“Ah, Glynda. How are you on this terrific day?” Dr. Oobleck asked.

“That depends. Have you finished the task you were set for today?” Glynda asked.

“But of course. It’s well underway.” The doctor replied.

“’Underway’, yet I find you here fussing over your collection again. You know that I will find out if you’ve been slacking again.” She warned.

“I’ve learned my lesson from last time. The job will be done on time, that I can promise you.”

“See that it is. The students should not be forced to study in an unclean environment. I’ll be back this afternoon to check that the desks are cleaned.”

“Wait, what?!” Jaune suddenly exclaimed. “If this is your job, why am I doing it?”

Jaune climbed out from under the desk. Dr. Oobleck was cutting the air in front of his throat, the universal signal for ‘quit it’. Glynda’s entire visage seemed to darken.

“And what is the explanation for this, Bart?” Glynda asked. Her voice sounded sweet, but it did not hide the venom within her words.

“N-now... I technically didn’t break any rules, right? The desks are getting cleaned, as promised. Besides, Mr. Arc has been helping many professors today. He helped Peter set up his classroom.” A floor tile cracked underneath Glynda’s foot. “A-a-and the headmaster has him copying files. Tell her Jaune, I’m not the only one, right?”

Loathe as he was to admit it, the professor was telling the truth.

“He’s not lying, I guess. I have been doing odd jobs for the last 2 or so hours.” Jaune admitted.

“Mr. Arc, please finish the photocopying for the headmaster and then return to his office. You are relieved of your duties here.” She said with one of her rare smiles. She then turned back to the other professor. “As for you Bart...”

Jaune left before he was forced to witness whatever inhuman horrors she was about to unleash on him.

**/-/**

The remaining several hundred pages of copying went by much more smoothly than the first few dozen had.

Several other professors such as professor Peach and professor Mulberry tried to enlist Jaune into service. They were all convinced otherwise at the mere mention of Ms. Goodwitch’s name.

Jaune knew she ran a tight ship with the students. He hadn't realized she ran an even tighter ship with the other members of staff.

Once finished, Jaune stacked up the papers and returned them to the professor’s office.

“Hey Oz, I have your-”

He paused once he registered the scene in front of him.

Both professor Port and doctor Oobleck were sitting with their hands in their lap and their heads hung low. Oz was watching the entire situation with a twinkle in his eyes as he calmly enjoyed a mug of his favorite drink. Glynda was standing beside the professors with a hand on each of their shoulders.

“...I have your papers here.” Jaune finished.

“Thank you, Mr. Arc. Your help is much appreciated.” Oz replied.

“Hmm, more appreciated than we had thought it would be,” Glynda added.

“We said we were sorry...” professor Port mumbled.

“Not nearly sorry enough.” She said, giving him a gentle squeeze on the shoulder that had him sitting up straight in shock. “Mr. Arc, tell me. What is a student’s job?”

“Uhhh, to do our assessments?” Jaune suggested.

“It is to learn. Assessments merely gauge your progress. Do you know what a teacher’s job is?” she again asked.

“To teach?” Jaune replied.

“Yes, to teach. Tell me then, as a student, what did you learn today from helping the professors? What did they teach you by having you scrape their desks and shuffle their decor?”

_Nothing?_

Jaune observed the two professors who were looking at him like he held their life in the palm of his hands.

He felt almost bad for them.

“I guess I got a bit of practice with an aura skill lifting all the Grimm and moving them around?” professor Port approvingly nodded.

“And Dr. Oobleck taught me about...” the doctor’s face lit up as he began to have hope for his future. “I’ve got nothing, sorry.”

“As I suspected. Peter, we’re cutting your hunting time down from 2 hours a day to 30 minutes for a month.”

“Nooooo!” professor Port wailed.

“Bart, we’re cutting off your coffee funds. You’re restricted to instant coffee from the staff lounge for the same duration.”

“This is abuse! I won’t stand for it!” Dr. Oobleck stood up and shouted.

“Then you can sit!” Glynda shouted back. She emphasized her point by forcing him back in the chair with her Semblance.

Jaune awkwardly laughed, not quite sure what he should do.

“As for you Mr. Arc, you’ve got my permission for an extension on any one assignment in both their classes to make up for the lost time. I hope that will suffice. You may leave now.” Glynda stated.

“Right... thanks?” Jaune replied as he turned to leave the room.

“Truly, the relationship between student and teacher is built on a foundation of trust. To betray that trust is to betray the very idea of being a teacher itself. We must never again forget this sobering lesson.” Oz calmly stated.

“Don’t you dare try and wrap this up nicely! Do you know how much work-” Glynda shouted before Jaune shut the elevator doors.


	25. Interlude III Weiss

“Hold the door please!”

Jaune quickly put his foot in the elevator doors. Seconds after he did, Weiss ran in after him.

“Ahem. Thank you, Jaune.” Said Weiss.

“No worries. Do you need to speak with the professor? I could step out if it’s private.” Jaune offered.

“That won’t be necessary. I merely have a question for him, you needn’t inconvenience yourself.” She politely declined.

“Right. Up we go then.” Jaune said as he re-pressed the button for the professor’s office.

The elevator doors closed and they slowly began to rise.

“How about you? I’ve heard a few people say you’ve been coming here a lot recently.” Weiss asked.

_Oh right, I haven’t told everyone about me and Oz yet... Probably best to keep it that way for now._

“He calls me up to help him with some errands from time to time. He probably wants me to deliver something for him since he said it wouldn’t take long today.” Jaune answered.

“I see, how diligent of you.”

There was an awkward silence as they each had run out of stuff to talk about. The silence was shattered with the distinct sound of something snapping loudly. The elevator shuddered and the floor counter began to flash yellow.

“Just my luck.” Weiss huffed.

“We’re stuck in a metal box suspended by broken wires and you’re... disgruntled?” Jaune asked, quite a bit more bothered by the situation.

“We’ve been thrown off a cliff for initiation Jaune. A drop of this size barely requires a landing strategy.” Weiss replied.

_Still don’t have a real landing strategy..._

“I guess you’re right. Should we bust out of here then?” Jaune asked.

“And damage school property? No thank you. We’ll wait until Ms. Goodwitch comes to fix it. With her Semblance a snapped cable is nothing.” Weiss explained.

“Right, okay,” Jaune replied.

Several awkward seconds passed.

Several much more awkward minutes passed after that.

Jaune slumped to the ground in the corner.

“Hey Weiss, how about you sit down? We could be here for a while.” Jaune asked.

Weiss looked conflicted, like sitting on the elevator floor broke some unspoken rule. Eventually though, with a sigh, she lowered herself into a sitting position. Her skirt was forced into place, such that the entirety of her lower body was hidden underneath.

“Since you’re full of such good ideas, how else do you propose we pass the time. It’s not like we have much to talk about, do we?” Weiss asked.

“I mean... We could find stuff to talk about? Maybe we have more in common than we think. We could play twenty questions? Or truth or dare.”

“And have myself wind up embarrassing myself? I don’t think so.” She sternly refused.

“Truth or truth then. I don’t know, haven’t you ever had to find a way to pass the time with your team?” Jaune asked.

“With Yang and Ruby around? No, it’s quite the opposite. I’m usually struggling to find time for myself while they jump from activity to activity.” She huffed. “Fine. Ask away, but if you get too pushy, you’ll be spending the rest of our time alone and cold.”

She fingered her weapon’s ice dust canister for emphasis.

“Okay... How about a simple one to start then? What’s your favorite color?” Jaune asked.

“Red.” She replied.

Jaune gestured for more information.

“I just like it. Why, what’s your favorite color? Surely you don’t have some deep philosophical reason behind liking it.” She retorted.

“It’s green, and I do have a very good reason thank you very much. Before that it was white and I had a good reason for that too.” Jaune fired back.

“Hmph. So whimsical. A favorite color isn’t something you’re supposed to change willy-nilly. But fine, I like red because all of the best sweets are red.”

“Fair enough. No one goes out of their way to eat the yellow ones, do they.” Jaune replied.

“Precisely. Now, you made me give a reason, what’s yours?” Weiss asked.

Jaune awkwardly laughed and looked away. “No way, too embarrassing.”

“This is going to make for a very boring game then.” Weiss challenged.

Jaune looked back to see her smiling smugly. He sighed.

“Fine, but we have a new rule. Nothing either of us says leaves this elevator. Got it?” Jaune asked.

“Very well.” Weiss agreed.

Jaune sighed again, louder this time as if she didn’t already know how much he didn’t want to explain.

“Pyrrha has green eyes. We joked about changing our favorite colors to suit our favorite people a long time ago. It was a joke, at least, it was until I realized just how much I liked... You get the point.”

“Why not red then? She’s covered in it.” Weiss asked.

“Next question please,” Jaune stated.

“Very well.” She laughed. “How much aura do you have?”

“That’s what you want to know? Really?”

She nodded. “Everybody knows that you’ve got a lot. You’re like Beacon’s personal boxing bag with how much punishment you can take. Unlike the rest of us, you don’t seem to leave scars when you heal, so you’ve got to have a lot.”

“I’ve got thirty points of aura. And I’m surprised you noticed I don’t leave scars. Are you watching me that closely?” Jaune teased.

“You came into the hospital with 80% of your skin missing from horrendous flesh-deep burns. We’d have to be blind to miss how flawless your recovery was.” She deadpanned.

“Oh yeah.” Was Jaune’s somewhat dumbstruck response.

It hadn’t even crossed his mind that his injuries could have been much worse than they were today.

“My turn again.” Said Jaune. “On the topic of scars then, how did you get yours?”

Weiss instinctively turned her head away, letting her hair cover her face.

“A training accident.” She replied.

“Come on, you’ve got to have more details than that, right?” Jaune pushed.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Especially not with someone who doesn’t have any.” She replied.

“Hm? I have scars.” Jaune replied.

“How? Where? I don’t believe you.”

Jaune took off the gloves on his hands and pushed his fists out towards Weiss.

“Before I unlocked my class or aura, I went through a bit of a rough time. I tried a lot of things to make my class unlock, one of them was to try striking a pole with my fists a thousand times. With no aura to protect me and no real conditioning done before that point, I tore up both my hands pretty bad. My mom freaked out when she saw me too.” Jaune explained.

Weiss ran a thumb over his scars, feeling the very raised and pale skin atop his otherwise unmarked hands.

“Do you wear the gloves to hide them then?” She asked.

“Nah. It’s just common sense to wear gloves. You have a better grip and it looks cool. I don’t go out of my way to show the scars off often, but I don’t see them as something to be ashamed of. I’m almost proud of them. I may have failed, but it’s a symbol of how hard I worked to get where I am. One of many.”

Weiss hummed thoughtfully.

“It was a... Geist, I believe is the generic term. A possession-type Grimm. More specifically, there were several of them inhabiting a large suit of armor. My father’s condition for me joining Beacon was for me to defeat it.” She explained.

Jaune interrupted. “Why did your father have access to giant suits of armor and Grimm?”

“For testing I presume, that is to say, testing his dust and how effective it is against Grimm and mechs. In any case, I got the scar from that fight.”

“Cool,” Jaune replied.

“Cool?” Weiss asked.

“Yeah, I mean, what else should I say? I had it pretty easy and I just ran away from home and joined Beacon. I did all of my ‘proving’ later at my team’s expense. You fought a giant armored Grimm and came out of it with just a scar. That’s cool.”

“I-I see. It’s my turn to ask a question then.” She contemplated for a few moments. “Why were you so much weaker than us at the start of the year?”

“You ask that as if I’m not still so much weaker than everyone.” Jaune joked.

“Because you’re not. Well, you are. But your growth is faster than most. You might still be the weakest, but you’re not useless anymore.”

_Oh._

“Uhh well, I guess I can’t not answer after that. You already know most of it though. I entered Beacon with no class and no aura. I’ve trained since I was young, but it just doesn’t compare. Having aura and the system guiding my training makes everything so much easier. In 3 months I’ve grown more than in the ten years before combined.” Jaune explained.

“So you had training then? You just seemed very... confused.” Weiss confirmed.

“I trained yeah, every day. But it was all physical training to try and unlock my class. I tried different weapons and settled on the sword, I tried different styles too. In the end, we just assumed that whatever felt comfortable was probably right. Then we played the waiting game. I didn’t do much study though, so I guess I was a bit out of the loop compared to other students.” Jaune admitted.

What do I even ask now? We kind of got straight into the heavy stuff after a single round, going back now is a bit...

“It’s your turn Jaune.” Weiss reminded.

“Uh... Okay... I don’t know... who’s your favorite member of team RWBY?” Jaune asked as soon as the question popped into his head.

“It’s not fair to play favorites,” Weiss replied.

“What are you, their mom? We all play favorites, now fess up.” Jaune pushed on.

This time it was Weiss’ turn for a loud exhale.

“Blake perhaps? She doesn’t talk much so she is far less annoying.” She replied.

“I said who is your favorite, not who is the least annoying.” Said Jaune.

Apparently, he’d caught Weiss out because she pouted. After several seconds she mumbled something under her breath.

“Pardon?” Jaune mocked.

“I can’t pick okay? I like them all! I’m jealous of Yang because she’s the type of girl I wish I’d gotten to grow up as. She’s been free to be who she wants. I respect Blake because she had an even harder upbringing than I did but she spent the whole time fighting back. I’m impressed by Ruby because she’s so talented despite her age and...” Jaune was snickering. “My turn.”

“Aww come on Weiss, you were just getting to the good part.” She shot him a look deserving of her nickname of Ice Queen and he relented. “Fine, I’m done. Ask away.”

“What’s it like being on team JNPR with Pyrrha?” She asked.

“I thought you were about to get me back with something embarrassing, but this one is easy. My team is great. Pyrrha and I get on well, Ren is always great and Nora is loads of fun.” Jaune answered.

“Is that it? There’s never anything you don’t like?” Weiss asked, clearly doubtful.

“Well... I mean there’s always bound to be some things I guess. Sometimes Nora can be a bit much to handle. As much as he has my back, Ren can be a bit passive sometimes. It can feel like I’m making all the decisions for the entire team sometimes. And Pyrrha... well, she can be a bit too nice sometimes. When I trained with my father he would shout what I’m doing wrong without hesitation. He wouldn’t stop me from pushing myself either, in fact, he encouraged it. Pyrrha’s a genius, but I think she doesn’t want to pressure me when I actually wouldn’t mind it.” Jaune explained. “But those are all little things. I still wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

Whatever Weiss was going to say next was interrupted as the elevator shuddered. It felt like they were beginning to rise again.

“I can’t hear any machinery running,” Jaune commented.

“It’s probably Ms. Goodwitch then,” Weiss replied.

After about a minute, the elevator stopped moving. The doors were forced open to reveal the headmaster’s office.

“Jaune, Weiss, we apologize for the inconvenience.” Ms. Goodwitch greeted.

“No worries at all professor.” Weiss politely replied.

“Yeah, it’s all good. It was what, 10 minutes? No biggie.” Jaune added.

Glynda nodded. “Very well, come inside, I’m sure you both had actual business.”

Jaune gestured for Weiss to go first, he would wait near the entrance.

As it turned out, she hadn’t even needed two minutes for her conversation to end. She returned and stepped inside the elevator. She paused before closing the doors.

“Not a word gets to anyone, understand?” Weiss asked.

Jaune nodded.

“Our little secret.”


	26. Interlude IV Nora

“-the worst storm that Vale has had in the last 6 years. We advise that everybody stays home and waits for it all to blow over. All flights are to be cancelled within the hour, so make sure you all get home safe and sound.” A news reporter explained.

The TV was barely audible over the sound of the wind and rain blasting their dorm window.

“Jaune, come on! It’s a quick twenty-minute trip. We go out, get a few movies for tonight, then come home.” Nora begged.

“I just have a feeling that twenty minutes doesn’t mean twenty minutes.” Jaune countered.

“Jaaaaaaaune...” Nora whined.

“It’s almost night time-”

“Pleeeeeeease!!!”

“...Fine but if something goes wrong, I’m saying I told you so.” Jaune relented.

**/-/**

“I told you so! Did I or did I not tell you that this was going to happen?” Jaune just about shouted.

The final bullhead was flying away right before his very eyes.

“I’m pretty sure that you never said anything like that. I would remember if you did.” Nora replied.

Jaune, through sheer force of will, suppressed the twitch in his eye.

“Let’s just... let’s just find somewhere to dry off and wait for this to blow over...” Jaune sighed.

“You got it boss! You always make the best plans. It’s like you know how things are going to happen before they do. It’s kind of spooky actually.” Nora innocently replied.

Jaune forced himself to keep his mouth shut.

As they ran through Vale they tried to stick to what little awnings hadn’t been taken down in an effort to stay dry. An effort that had failed miserably before they’d even begun. They banged on several doors as they ran, desperate for someone to let them in. The sound of their knocking and shouting was drowned out in the thunder and wind. Every shop, bar, and club was closed. Short of breaking in, they wouldn’t be getting inside any time soon.

“There has to be somewhere with cover! I’m a freaking lightning rod right now with all this armor!” Jaune loudly complained.

“How about over there?” Nora asked, pointing way off into the distance.

Jaune wouldn’t have spotted it if she hadn’t have pointed it out. A tiny pagoda, fit for maybe four people at most, was out in the centre of a children’s park.

“It’ll have to do, let’s go!” Jaune shouted.

When they reached the small tin-roofed shelter, they were finally spared from the rain. But the downside was that the noise was that much louder. Still, it beat getting zapped in the storm.

Jaune took his armor off and his hoodie followed it shortly after. It wouldn’t do much, but getting out of his wet clothes would help keep him warm.

_Wait..._

Jaune realised that Nora wasn’t exactly wearing clothes she could just slip out of. Girls were usually less inclined to go around topless than guys were.

“Oh, good idea Jauney! It’s pretty chilly in these wet rags.” Nora cheerily stated before whipping her top off.

Jaune instantly covered his eyes. He'd walked in on his sisters enough times to know the risks.

“Nora!? Aren’t you... you know?” Jaune asked, hoping she would clue on without him needing to explain it.

“Aw come on, it’ll be like I’m wearing a bikini. Nothing embarrassing about that. Besides, I know you won’t stare and there's no one else out here.” She flippantly explained.

Jaune had to admit that it made sense, technically. With that said, while there wasn't anyone else 'out here' that didn't mean no one would be able to see them.

There was a table near them and Jaune ran back out into the rain and dragged it under the pagoda.

He slung his hoodie, shirt, over the edges. After some deliberation his jeans and the clothes Nora had discarded followed.

“In you get.” Jaune gestured to the table.

“Oooh! It’s like a blanket fort!” Nora exclaimed before happily getting inside.

Jaune followed her in and turned his back to her.

“This way we aren’t in wet clothes, no one can see us, and it even breaks the wind and dampens the noise a bit.” Jaune explained.

“I told you that you were smart. It’s like we’re camping!” Said Nora.

She leaned her back against his, and Jaune pressed back. They could sit upright and share what little warmth the skin to skin contact provided this way. With their aura mitigating the worst of the cold and their tiny shelter on top, it was quite cozy. As cozy as concrete floor in the middle of a storm could be anyway.

“Have you ever been camping?” Jaune finally asked, desperate for a distraction.

Jaune could feel Nora shake her head.

“Camping is a holiday away from home. Smores and tents. We slummed it plenty of times though with a tarp and a few sticks. Now that I think of it, I guess we aren’t camping.”

Jaune thought on that for a moment. Not the part about her and Ren relying on a tarp to protect them from the elements. He knew they didn’t like talking about their time before Beacon. Instead, he thought on the fact that they didn’t have any smores. More specifically, they didn’t have any food.

Jaune didn’t know how long they were going to be out here. He didn’t want to spend the duration both cold and hungry.

“Nora, stay here and keep dry okay? Don’t let our clothes fly away if it gets windy.” Jaune requested.

“Hm? Okay. But where are you going?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise.” Jaune replied as he grabbed a stack of Lien from his pants pocket which hung nearby.

Nora loved surprises and he knew the mention of one would be enough to get her excited.

Jaune exited their fabric stronghold and was greeted with a spray of rain. With the wind blowing as hard as it was, it was falling at an almost 45 degree angle.

Clad in nothing but his briefs, he was glad that there wouldn’t be anyone out to see him.

He vaguely recalled seeing a vending machine on their way over. When he found it, he was pleased to see it was the kind that dished out food as well as drinks.

Jaune put in his first Lien card and punched the numbers for a packet of chips. It slowly dropped to the tray before giving Jaune back his change. Jaune bent down to pick it up when a lightning bolt struck barely 10 meters away from him.

_I’m not staying out here and picking these up one at a time..._

Jaune looked at his stack of Lien. A few hundred and change at least.

With a shrug Jaune channelled aura to his hands and arms and shattered the glass face of the machine. He grabbed an armful of the snacks and left behind his entire collection of Lien. He planned on finding a way to make up for it later, but he hoped the Lien would do for now if the owner found it.

When Jaune returned, he dumped the collection in front of Nora.

“There. Now we’re camping.” He proudly exclaimed.

“Woohoo!” Nora shouted as she ripped open a packet.

Jaune smiled at her enthusiasm and tried to brush off as much water as he could.

“Are you cold again?” Nora asked.

“I’ll be fine once I’m dry-what are you doing?” Jaune asked as Nora crawled over to sit in his lap mid sentence.

“Ren always tells me how warm I am. I put out a lot of heat, I think it’s got to do with my Semblance or something. It’s always a little bit active which means my muscles are always a little warm. I don’t really get it, you can ask Ren though.” Nora explained.

She grabbed Jaune's arms and wrapped them around her stomach. His chest was forced against her back. True to her words, she was like a miniature heater now that she’d had a chance to warm up.

“Thanks...” Jaune awkwardly replied.

“That’s okay Jauney! You’re always taking care of everyone else, it’s no biggie if we help you back. You boys always seem to forget that.”

“You mean Ren?” Jaune asked.

Nora nodded.

“He gets so uncomfortable when you try to help him with anything that matters. Yet he always sticks his nose in when I’m in a bad mood. You try and explain how stupid that is though and he just doesn’t get it. It’s like he doesn’t realise that he’s important too, you know?” she explained.

“Oh? And how important is he?” Jaune teased.

She warmed considerably under his touch.

“He’s my bestie... Duh.” Nora replied.

“Nah, come on. I’m pretty sure there’s more to it than that. I think I’ve heard you say ‘together but not ‘together-together’ about 100 times. If that’s not a hint then I don’t know what is. Just tell me already.” Jaune pushed.

“No way, I’m not telling you a thing.” She refused.

“Aha! So there is more that you’re not telling me.” Jaune smirked.

Nora grumbled under her breath.

“You can’t tell him then. He has to work it out himself. For that matter, you can’t tell Pyrrha. She’s too nice. She'd spill the beans under pressure.”

“I give my word, and an Arc never goes back on his word.” Jaune swore, holding his right hand up.

Nora seemed to relax, slumping back into Jaune’s chest. She tilted her head back so she could get a decent look at him.

“The day I met Ren, I went from having nothing to suddenly having so much and it’s all thanks to him. We were strangers at first, but after a few years we became something like siblings. Now though, he’s just so handsome. I don’t want to ruin what we have by pushing him and making things wierd. But if he asked, I would say yes in a heartbeat.” She explained.

“I see,” Jaune replied.

“That’s it? You see?” Nora seemed almost offended.

“Yeah, I mean... What am I supposed to say? You want him to come to you, so you have to wait.” Jaune shrugged.

“But... you and Pyrrha have been on a real date before. I figured you would know something to help me.”

“To help you make him take action without you doing anything? Nah. I asked Pyrrha and she said yes. We also had the advantage of not having whatever history you guys have.” Jaune explained.

Nora huffed.

“Do you think I’ve got a chance at least? Maybe he’d get on with someone more like him, like Blake, or Weiss.”

“I can’t speak for him because I don’t know what he’s thinking.” Jaune stated.

He took a second to force himself to recognise the girl in his lap as a girl and not as a teammate. All things considered, she was beautiful, just as much as any other huntress he knew. Her curves were on the same level as Yang and her personality was vibrant. Though, perhaps a bit exhausting from time to time.

“But if I’m being honest, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t have a chance. He’d have to have a very good reason for not liking you.” Jaune added.

“Thanks Jauney. Sometimes I just get in my head about it all. It’s been years and I’ve given him signs. Pretty blatant ones I thought. I’ve crawled into his bed, I push myself up against him all the time. Like, get a hint, you know?”

_Those were hints? I thought that was just Nora being... Nora._

Jaune didn’t feel as cold anymore so he scooted away from Nora. Nora ruined his efforts by scooting with him.

“Um?” Jaune asked.

“What. You’re comfy and all that serious talk made me tired. Just deal with it.” She ordered.

Jaune exhaled in mock annoyance but did as he was told.

“You make a good pillow, you know? When you’re not wearing all that armor anyway.” She freely remarked. “Pyrrha’s going to love that.”

“You reckon?” Jaune asked.

Nora nodded.

“You’re beefier than Ren is but your muscles are really soft.” She yawned into his chest. “They say soft muscles are a sign you’re training right. Too much tension slows you down. It's better to just... relax”

She let her weight slide onto him and Jaune collapsed backward. Nora had her head resting on his stomach and her hands came up either side of his ribs. She’d completely converted him into her own personal pillow.

“Nora... Shouldn’t we think about getting back to Beacon or something?” Jaune asked.

She smacked her lips and slightly shook her head.

_I guess we’re here for the long haul then..._


	27. Interlude V Ren

“So could you check it out for me?” Nora asked.

“You know that Pyrrha is going to be staying here and watching you finish that assignment, right? Getting me out of the dorm isn’t going to get you out of it.” Jaune replied.

“I know! I’m not stupid, I would come up with a way better plan than this.” She paused. “Not that this is a plan. I am worried.”

“Worried because Ren isn’t hounding you to keep on top of your assignments?” Jaune asked.

“Yes! You’re acting like that isn’t the exact sort of thing he normally does. When Ren acts differently it’s because something is up. So can you just go find out what he’s been up to the last few days?” She begged.

Jaune sighed.

“Fine. I’ll try to follow him and see what he gets up to during the day. I can’t promise anything though, you know how perceptive he can be.” Said Jaune.

_Now, where do I start…?_

**/-/**

It took Jaune almost an hour to finally find his teammate.

He had tried all of the usual places first. He tried Ren’s favorite midday nap spot, his favorite afternoon nap spot. All the different environments for meditation and relaxation got a visit. None of them had signs he’d been there for the last few days.

No, Jaune found Ren in one of the last places he could have imagined. In fact, he hadn’t imagined it at all, and it was nothing more than blind luck that led to his success.

Jaune caught sight of Ren just as he descended the Beacon cliffs into the Emerald Forest.

Rushing up to the edge, Jaune saw that he had almost reached the bottom already.

“I need to develop a proper landing strategy already,” Jaune grumbled as he began his climb down the cliffs.

Jaune descended as fast as he was able. When he reached the bottom he immediately set out in search of his teammate. He’d made sure to keep an eye on him as he was climbing so he knew vaguely which direction to head.

After a few minutes of quiet jogging, Jaune heard something.

He heard snarls, whines, and the dull thud of something being hit with great force.

He figured that was as good a sign as any.

Jaune slowed from a jog to a stealthy walk as he approached. He didn’t want to alert Ren to his presence, especially if there was a chance of being mistaken for a Grimm.

Jaune peeked around a tree trunk as Ren cut down several Beowolves in quick succession. There were times when he didn’t touch the ground because he was too busy leaping through the air from kill to kill.

But despite the swift pace which Ren worked at, it didn’t seem like he was channeling any kind of raw emotion.

At least as far as Jaune could tell, he wasn’t out here burning off steam or lashing out at the Grimm. Instead, it almost seemed like he was a bit bored.

His boredom didn’t last, however.

The sounds of fighting had drawn more than just Jaune’s attention.

A single-headed King Taijitu had entered the fray.

Jaune was tempted to run out to assist. This creature was much larger than the ones he had been fighting up until now. He held back though as he knew that Ren had fought a much more dangerous two-headed variant during initiation.

“Really…” Ren sighed.

The Taijitu waited with its head poised high up in the air. Ren continued fighting the Beowolves which streamed in without end from the forest.

When Ren jumped into the air, it struck, striking him out of the air and into the dirt. Ren had blocked, sparing himself from the fangs, but the impact still couldn’t have been fun.

“I was hoping to get more done today… Oh well, you’re worth more than the others, so I guess it’s okay.” Ren spoke to the Grimm itself.

Ren’s body grew slightly to fill his loose-fitting clothes. Jaune always found it impressive when his teammate activated his muscle augmentation. He hoped he looked at least half as cool when he did it.

Ren broke through the rank of Grimm which stood between him and the King Taijitu.

“Exploding Palm,” Ren stated.

The calmness of his voice didn’t match the violence of his skill’s activation.

An instant after his palm made contact with the Grimm’s scaly hide, it bubbled up and exploded in a gooey black mess. The Grimm instantly began to turn to ash. The weaker Grimm around him followed shortly after.

“That should do it,” Ren spoke to himself as he dusted off his clothes and deactivated his aura skills.

He turned and began to walk almost exactly in Jaune’s direction, the direction he had come from.

Panicking, Jaune turned tail and fled back to the cliffs. He didn’t hear Ren call after him, so he had to assume he hadn’t been heard.

Jaune scaled the cliff and once at the top, took position somewhere a short distance away. He waited and watched to see where Ren would go next.

Sure enough, Ren reappeared a few minutes later. Jaune watched as he walked not in the direction of the dorms, but of the bullheads.

Jaune jogged up behind Ren when he got within a short distance of the bullheads. He knew he wouldn’t be able to track Ren in the city unless he kept his eye on him the entire time. He wouldn’t have the luxury of letting him take a bullhead by himself.

“Hey, Ren! Heading into town?” Jaune asked.

Ren paused for a second before turning around.

“I am, yes. You?” Ren calmly asked.

“Yeah, I’m uhh buying some stuff. A present. For Pyrrha.” Jaune lied.

“I see. Good luck with that.”

“… What are you getting up to in town?” Jaune further prodded when Ren let the conversation end.

“Some shopping.” He replied.

_I genuinely can’t tell if he’s doing this on purpose or not…_

“Something for Nora? It’s food I bet.” Jaune joked while trying to get him to be more specific.

“You guessed it,” Ren stated.

Jaune held in the sigh that he wanted to release. Getting Ren to talk right now was like trying to draw blood from a stone. It wasn’t even like Ren was being particularly evasive. It felt more like his mind simply wasn’t on task. Like he was somewhere else.

“So… You get that assignment done? Nora is doing hers now.” Jaune mentioned after some silence.

“Ah.” A hint of surprise broke through his normally calm features. “Yes, I’ve finished it. It wasn’t too hard. Nora should be fine.”

“Yeah, she will be.” Jaune agreed.

The bullhead landed and they both hopped off.

“Which way are you headed?” Ren and Jaune asked at the same time.

Shocked by the double-up, Jaune responded first.

“This way.” He pointed roughly toward the center of town. “Figure I’ll hit up the big shops first.”

“I see. I’ll have to catch up with you more later then.” Ren stated, gesturing almost the exact opposite way.

“Right. See you then.” Jaune replied.

“Bye.”

Ren left in a pace that was neither clearly hurried, but much faster than his usual speed.

Jaune put up a pretense of heading in the direction he had stated, not wanting to give away what he was doing. It didn’t take Ren long at all to disappear around a corner.

Jaune doubled back and peeked around the corner, only to see an empty alley.

Jaune swore under his breath and sped up to the first intersection of the alley. He barely saw a flash of green move out of sight at the next corner.

For a few minutes, Jaune played cat and mouse with Ren who seemed intent on taking the most convoluted path through the city possible.

When he finally ducked into an actual store instead of another alley, Jaune almost lost him.

Fortunately, he managed to hear him as he dashed past.

“No luck then?” Ren asked.

“Sorry kid. The sign is up but not many people read them.”

“That’s fine, I understand. Thank you for your help.” Ren replied.

“Mhm. Take care of yourself.”

Ren walked out of the store with a small plastic bag in hand. The second he left, he ducked down the closest alley once more.

Thinking that Jaune was going to have to chase his teammate again, Jaune dashed after him.

When he rounded the corner, he tripped over Ren who was squatted down around the corner.

“Jaune?” Ren asked.

“Uhhh… Hi Ren. Fancy seeing you here.” Jaune tried.

Ren raised an eyebrow at Jaune. It went unnoticed as Jaune’s attention was taken up by the contents of Ren's bag which was resting near his face.

“Milk?” Jaune asked.

Ren became as still as a statue.

Jaune tried to rifle through the rest of the bag to see what else was in there. Ren finally animated again to block Jaune off.

“It’s for my shakes. Special stuff, extra protein.” He quickly explained.

A small meow called out from behind Ren.

Ren tried to act like he hadn’t heard it.

“Anyway, didn’t you have a present to shop for? I heard there’s a great jewelry place, you could get Pyrrha a set of earrings or something. You should go now before all the good ones-”

A much louder and more demanding meow called out, interrupting him.

Ren’s head dropped with a sigh.

Jaune scooted around his deflated teammate to see a small cardboard box.

On the face, it read ‘Free to a good home’. Within it was a small kitten. It was midnight black from head to toe and its bright blue eyes stared at Ren intensely.

“What's with the cat?” Jaune asked. “Is this what you’ve been doing for the last few days?”

“You noticed? I thought I was being more subtle than that.” Jaune let the implication that his noticing made something unsubtle slide.

“Nora noticed, not me. She claims that normally you’d have gotten her to do her assignments earlier. That's when she realized something was up. I don’t think she was expecting this though. Seriously, what’s with the cat?” Jaune asked once more.

“There’s nothing up with the cat. I saw it one day and I started taking care of it until someone adopts it.” Ren explained.

“Then why keep it secret?” Jaune asked.

“I… I like cats.” Ren replied.

“… Okay?”

“No, I mean… Nora thinks my favorite animal is a sloth, the same as hers. Her whole world view would be shattered if she realized I liked cats. I’m pretty sure a solid chunk of our relationship is founded on the premise that I like sloths.” Ren reached behind him and picked up the small ball of fur and held it up to Jaune’s face. “But how could any other animal ever compare to this?”

“…”

“You’re kidding right?” Jaune asked.

“Do I look like I’m kidding? Look at his little paws and tell me I’m wrong.” Ren insisted.

Jaune palmed his forehead.

“Not about the cat, about the rest of it. You really think Nora would be that bothered because you like a different animal?”

“I’m certain. In fact, I’m pretty sure she hates cats. I said that I thought Blake’s cat ears were cute one time and she didn’t talk to me for about a week. Do you know how long a week is in Nora-time? I had to make so many pancakes that week it wasn’t funny.”

This was the most emotion Ren had showed. Ever.

Ren felt very strongly about this, that much was clear. He felt it necessary to hide from his team and his partner, that’s how important this was.

Which is why Jaune laughed right in his face.

“Ren, Nora doesn’t hate cats, you idiot. She likes anything with fur. She likes Ursai for Oum’s sake.” Jaune said through a laugh.

Ren pulled the kitten away from Jaune’s face and placed it back in the box. He rummaged through the bag and pulled out a few bowls. One he filled with milk, the other with some canned tuna. The process gave Jaune time to get himself under control. Ren finally responded when he had.

“Then explain her reaction. The first time I test the waters about something even slightly related she loses it.”

Jaune would have loved to tell him straight up exactly what Nora’s issue with Blake’s ears was. But the conversation where he overheard it is strictly locked down with a no telling Ren rule.

“Sorry Ren, but you’re just going to have to work this one out yourself. All I’ll say is you should just show her and see what happens. I promise it’ll be fine. You’ll probably really make her night.”

Jaune dusted off his jeans and stood up.

“Anyway... I’m heading back to the dorms. I’ll catch you later.” Said Jaune.

**/-/**

Hours later as Jaune relaxed in his dorm he received a single text from Ren. There was an image of both him and Nora hugging each other with the kitten trapped between them. It was captioned ‘She doesn’t hate cats!’

Jaune laughed. Another job well done.


	28. Interlude VI Ruby

Jaune groaned and clutched at his legs as pain spiked up them both. He was fairly certain his knees weren’t supposed to bend that way.

The afternoon of long-needed training devoted to a landing strategy had been going so well up until now.

He had started by jumping out of trees from increasing heights. When he had the technique down to the point where it was all muscle and no aura, he’d moved onto the Beacon rooftops.

That proved to be a bit harder.

The greatly increased height had been part of it, but it was the concrete ground that caused more issues. The landing wasn’t as soft as the grass and his aura had to make the difference. Any small injuries he sustained through his aura were healed after each jump. After several attempts, Jaune felt he was getting a pretty good grasp on it. Finally, he felt comfortable to try a real height.

The Beacon cliffs. 80 meters of sheer free fall.

Plenty of other students were more than capable of making this jump. It was the bare minimum Jaune would settle for as proof of competency. It had been the first trial of initiation after all.

But as much as he wanted it, he first had to fight off the voice in his head telling him how it was a bad idea.

The internal debate chewed up so much of Jaune’s mental processing power, that he’d forgotten to check his aura.

Which is how he got to where he was now.

Once sufficiently hyped, he pulled off the jump, landing on target. He’d bent at the knees just like he had all the times before and cushioned his legs with aura. Only this time, he didn’t realize just how much extra speed he’d picked up.

His air time had lasted twice as long as his last attempt. This meant his landing strategy had to absorb twice as much velocity in half as much time.

All his strength and aura remaining failed to stop him. He barely even had time to slow himself, though he tried. Instead, his body drove his kneecaps into the ground at almost 140 kilometers per hour.

Jaune’s aura had likely saved him from some damage in the end. His knees were fractured, but the more important bits like his brain and spine were untouched. Unfortunately, this did cost him what remained of his aura. Which meant he wouldn’t be healing this injury any time soon.

Jaune rolled over onto his back, sat up, and with his hands, pulled his legs out straight in front of him. He loudly swore into the forest as the pain spiked in response.

He was no stranger to pain, having dealt with his fair share of injuries in the past. Unlike those times, however, he wasn’t hyped up on as much adrenaline or endorphins as he would be during a fight. The rush of battle served to dull pain for at least a while.

Without that, Jaune had to take it raw and try not to pass out.

“What the hell do I do now?! Can’t heal without aura. I’m not climbing back up this mountain with just my hands. I can’t exactly stay out here so close to Grimm territory either… I’ll have to call for backup.” Jaune spoke aloud.

It was a shame then, that he had for the first time in a long time forgotten his scroll.

“Damn it! Jaune you idiot! How hard is it to remember: wallet, scroll, sword. Three things! That’s all you have to pick up before you leave! Dumbass!” Jaune loudly berated himself.

“If it makes you feel any better, you probably would have broken it from that fall anyway.”

Jaune knew that voice. He turned his neck as far as he could without moving his lower body to face the forest.

“Ruby?” Jaune asked upon seeing her. “What are you doing here?”

“Hehe, same as you I guess? Although my training doesn’t usually result in broken bones… Not anymore anyway.” She joked.

“Oh sure, laugh it up!” Jaune snapped.

“Sorry! I was just trying to lighten the mood. I thought it was just a training accident, it happens all the time. With your aura, you’ll be patched up in an hour or two anyway right? Sorry…” she pouted.

“I’m out of aura,” Jaune mumbled under his breath.

“Sorry?” Ruby asked, unable to hear him.

“I don’t have any aura. I burned it all already.” Jaune repeated.

“Oh. That’s bad then.”

Jaune bit back on the frustration he was feeling. Ordinarily, Ruby’s personality came off as cute and quirky. The pain in his legs was souring her charm somewhat.

“Do you know first aid or anything?” Jaune asked.

“Mhm! Enough for a broken bone at least. They taught us how to patch up field injuries so that our aura didn’t have as much work to do. Broken bones were the first item on the list.” She smiled proudly. “I’ll go get what I need, you stay here and don’t go anywhere.”

_Does it look like I’m going anywhere?_

“Ok,” Jaune responded.

Ruby raced off with her Semblance and zipped amongst the trees a short distance away. It didn’t take her long at all with her speed to return with an armful of fallen branches.

Jaune had already straightened out his legs, which Ruby informed him was good. She set out positioning the sticks around his legs, making sure they were all long and sturdy enough.

“Ok, now we just need something to wrap it all up with. Do you carry any bandages?” she asked.

“No?” Jaune answered. He wasn’t sure where she thought he would be keeping them.

“Rope? String? Earphones with a really long thick cable?” She tried.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say I don’t have that or the next ten things you try and guess…” Jaune replied.

“Hehe… Out on a limb, nice.” Ruby laughed at a joke Jaune hadn’t even made. “Don’t worry, I have an idea.”

_Oh good. Hopefully, it’s as good as the last one._

Ruby started untying the laces on her boots and Jaune had to admit, it was a pretty good idea. When she was finished she untied Jaune’s as well and passed both pairs of shoes to Jaune for holding onto.

Her laces were longer and so they went around his thigh above the knee. His wrapped around the sticks mid-shin. It wasn’t comfortable by a long shot. The sticks poked into him, the splint wasn’t stable. But it meant he couldn’t move his leg for the time being so he sucked it up.

Thankfully, a speck of aura had already regenerated. With that and the binding on tight, his pain had numbed considerably.

“So, now what?” Jaune asked.

“Hm? Now you go to the doctor and get it set properly so your aura can do the rest.” Ruby replied.

Jaune looked at his now bound legs and the cliff behind him. Ruby got the picture pretty quick.

“Right. I knew that. I’ll take you.” She added before he could comment.

“Not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but can you actually get me up there? I’m not light, especially with all this armor.”

Ruby responded by deadlifting and curling Jaune so that he rested in her arms.

It came as quite a surprise since he had been expecting her to offer him a shoulder, not pick him clean off the ground.

“Everyone always makes the same mistake and assumes I’m fast but weak. You don’t swing Crescent Rose around day after day without building a few muscles.” She proudly explained. “Now put your arms around my neck and hold on please.”

Jaune did as instructed and she carefully repositioned him onto her back.

Jaune soon learned just how great the height difference was between them. Even with Ruby standing straight, Jaune had to lift his legs so his feet wouldn’t drag as she carried him.

Finally, though, she started to climb and he could let himself relax, somewhat at least.

“So are you gonna tell me what you were out here trying to do?” Ruby asked after a few silent seconds.

“Practising a landing strategy.” He answered. “I can't slow my fall like you and Yang. I figured if I could learn to absorb the impact and then roll through it using my body at least though. Pyrrha smashed her way through trees during initiation. So I was pretty confident I could handle a proper landing with my aura.”

“And you figured the best way to learn that was to dive off a cliff?” Ruby asked.

“No, first I jumped out of a tree, then I jumped off the dorm roof.” Jaune corrected.

“Jaune, there’s a pretty big difference between a two-story drop and a cliff. Shouldn’t you have warmed up to it first? How long were you practicing anyway?”

“Two days…” Jaune mumbled. Ruby snorted.

“Yeah, okay, Jaune. I know you’re a total training nut, but even you should know that was pretty dumb.”

“I’m not a training nut...” Jaune protested.

Ruby stopped climbing to turn and look at him in disbelief.

“Do you know how often my team trains?” She paused for a half-second. “Twice a week, maybe more if we have assignments.”

“Wait, what? Pyrrha and I train every day.”

“Which is why you’re both freaks. I mean that in the best way possible. But you are the exception, not the norm. This is coming from someone whose class almost insists that I spend my time training.”

“Your class? What do you mean? I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard you explain anything about your class before.”

Jaune was genuinely curious. From the moment he’d met Ruby he’d been interested in her class, but he never had the opportunity to just up and ask her.

“Your class focuses on learning skills and leveling them, right? Well, my class focuses on killing Grimm. The more I kill, the more my class skill evolves. The more it evolves, the faster I level up. If I thought like you, I’d be out in these forests killing Grimm every day.” Ruby explained.

Jaune couldn’t help but wonder if that class ability was how Ruby was as strong as she was at such a young age. She was talented, of course, but that sounded like a blatant advantage over other classes. She hadn't even mentioned a downside that countered it like the one his class had.

“I didn’t realize there were class skills that got stronger over time,” Jaune stated.

“Really? Hunters like professor Port get a stat and skill bonus against their favored enemy. I’m pretty sure Monks like Ren get stronger as their meditation skill levels up. It boosts their aura skills and their hand to hand skill. You didn’t know?” Ruby asked.

“Huh… No, I didn’t. It’s not every class though, right?”

“Nope. Fighters and warriors just get their stat multipliers. Weiss doesn’t even get much in the way of stat increases, she just gets a bonus to her dust skills.” Ruby explained. “I take it yours doesn’t grow with you then?”

“No, it doesn’t. A linear stat multiplier and I can learn skills from any class. Everything else is up to me. To be honest, it’s like we are complete opposites in that way.” Jaune replied.

“Maybe that’s why we get on so well!” Ruby chirped. “Opposites attract and all that.”

“…”

Jaune had to give Ruby credit that she didn’t turn 180 degrees and insult him trying to correct herself. But it was hard to miss how red her ears went when she realized what she’d implied.

Jaune coughed and changed the subject, eager to save them both the embarrassment.

“So uhh… You were out here already right? When you saw me jump. Any reason for that?”

“I needed some pocket money,” Ruby replied, more than happy to jump on the opportunity he gave her. “Crescent Rose deserves the best and a new Mk. 8 Clearview Scope doesn’t come cheap. He only gets the top of the line gear after all.”

“He?” Jaune asked.

“Nothing. I said ‘it’.” She adamantly refused.

Jaune chuckled but didn’t comment.

“So where did you learn to use a weapon like that anyway? Call me biased, but most people don’t go straight to sniper-scythe as their first choice for a weapon.” Jaune asked.

“My uncle has a scythe. I thought it was cool and he taught me how to use it. His is a shotgun though, nowhere near as cool as my baby. I think you’d like him though. You both have a similar fighting style.”

“I find that hard to believe. Sword and shield versus shotgun-scythe.” Jaune replied.

Ruby giggled.

“True. But you're both dirty fighters. I bet if we put a cloak on you you’d fit right in. Although… you kind of look more like my dad if I’m honest. He’s blonde just like you, and Yang. He dressed up like my uncle for Halloween once. You'd look like that.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a fun family,” Jaune commented.

“Mhm! How about you? We don’t hear much about your family other than all the advice your parents gave you.” Ruby asked.

“Ahh… Well… We’re not on speaking terms right now. To get to Beacon I kind of ran away from home and blocked their number so they couldn’t guilt me into coming back. But they’re all great. My dad trained me every day when he wasn’t away on a mission. He taught me the sword, my footwork, all the basics. Plus I owe plenty of my leadership skills to him. While I trained he was always giving me little nuggets of wisdom. Some were useless, but some came in handy. My mom makes the most amazing pies like you wouldn’t believe, she’s great. But don’t get on her bad side, she didn’t raise all of us without learning how to force us into line. My sisters are… most of my sisters are great.” Jaune splurged.

“Most of?” Ruby inquired.

“I have one sister who is…” _A nasty piece of work?_ “She has a dark sense of humor that mainly appeals to herself.”

“You mean like Yang and her pranks?” Ruby asked.

“More sinister.”

“Oh. So like Yang and her revenge pranks after you pranked her first.”

Jaune nodded. “Exactly, but all the time.”

The discussion had made their time fly by and without realizing it, they had reached the top. Ruby pulled herself up to the ledge. Jaune took the opportunity to grab onto it himself and let Ruby get up without him. When she was up, she pulled Jaune the rest of the way up while making sure his legs didn’t bang into the ground. When he was secure, she lifted him back up once more.

“Ok! That’s the hard part done. Now we just get you to the infirmary.”

“Thanks, Ruby. I would’ve had a way harder time of all this without you.” Said Jaune.

“Ahh, what are friends for, right? Besides, not like I was ever going to just leave you there. I’m just doing what anyone would.” She replied.

With nothing left to add, Ruby swiftly delivered Jaune to the doctor. She left just as quickly too, no doubt due to the expression on the doctor's face.

“Mr. Arc, I thought we had an agreement that you wouldn’t be back here for at least a month.” The doctor fumed.

Jaune wilted under the doctor’s baleful gaze.

He was in for a rough afternoon.


	29. Deceive and Discern I

For Jaune, the last few weeks had been a blur. Each day had been packed to the brim with training and practice. Little time had been spent relaxing or lazing around. He hadn't let himself.

He filled his mornings with physical training at team CFVY’s gym. It was a desperately needed addition to his schedule. Unlike his team, who now were hunting Grimm daily, Jaune gained no stats through leveling.

During the day, after working out, he would practice his skills. His muscle augmentation was finally growing stronger now that he knew how to train it. You didn’t train a muscle to become stronger by lifting light weights for long periods. Similarly, you couldn’t train your muscles to absorb more aura by using a small amount for long durations. He had to stretch and fill the muscles with aura and push his breaking point.

By afternoon, Jaune would train his mind against the effects of his pyrophobia. The sessions were short, and if Jaune was honest, hadn’t accomplished much. He was getting used to fighting through the feeling and lasted longer each time he tried. But he never felt as if the feeling was going away.

Most of the time allocated to this style of training was spent trying to steady his mind after the session. To ready himself for his favorite part of the day; sparring with Pyrrha.

The girl's competitive spirit had fuelled and fed off his own. Gone was the girl who would apologize after each hit she landed. In her place, a warrior who would openly laugh just as easily as she would offer a hand to her downed partner. Gone was the boy who would refuse to take that hand to pull himself up. In his place, a fighter who tried harder with each attempt to get her back.

As per the headmaster's suggestion, they trained with wooden weapons. By extension, this meant that his shield was also disallowed as it wasn’t made of wood. He was banned from using his aura too, for anything other than soothing the bruises she left him.

After a while, Pyrrha got used to the idea of striking him and making it hurt. She also didn’t mind providing verbal ‘encouragement’ in the form of small taunts and jabs. She fought him with her own set of restrictions to even the playing field. No semblance for a few rounds, sometimes she fought with a single arm or she refused to move from her position. The added challenge meant that even Jaune could provide an adequate challenge for training.

The pain of every missed opportunity was great motivation too. For the first few days, he was returning to the dorm with swollen cheekbones and groaning ribs. After a while though, he learned to take blows more efficiently. A hand or an arm was placed in the road of a blow instead of his liver or head. It still hurt of course, but each strike hurt less than the last as he adapted to both the pain and the technique needed.

In such a small time, with her pushing him forward, he had improved more than he thought possible. His form which was decent after years of drilling the basics with his father was sharpened. Technique and expertise were filtered into his style as she pointed out what he could be doing better. She taught him new combinations, unique timing, and methods for enforcing distance. His strategic mind shone much more brightly with all the tools he was acquiring.

Of course, even then, he was still leagues away from being a match for his partner.

Today though was different. Rather than a day of training, today was to be a day to see how far he had come.

The school had organized a one-off sparring day for all first-year students. Students were allowed to challenge one another to an official spar. It was an opportunity to scout their future competition and test their limits. Half of the battle was fought before the challenge had even been proposed. Students would have to pick their opponents carefully. Too weak and they had nothing to gain. Too strong and they risked revealing their trump cards or making a fool of themselves.

Pyrrha blew this train of thought out of the water.

“I challenge team CRDL.” She declared to Ms. Goodwitch, the acting referee of today’s event.

“Very well Ms. Nikos. Team CRDL, make your way to the arena.” The professor responded.

Pyrrha had managed to convince him out of trying to take on Cardin by himself today. The fire dust crystal in his weapon would reveal his weakness to everyone present. The same went for Weiss, Blake, Yang, and several other students too. There weren’t many opponents left that he actively wanted to fight against.

He wouldn’t fight his team. Tactically it offered no advantage while giving away information to the other students. Similarly, he didn’t want to fight against Ruby. Her speed left him no chance of beating her by himself without her taking it easy on him. This only left him with students from the other academies.

He had seen Sun fight once before. He used a collapsible staff with explosive ammunition similar to Yang’s gauntlets. His Semblance created clones that could fight in his place. He was a fighter who would likely outmatch him, but not because his style was a direct counter. Fighting Sun would be an opportunity to see how he matched up against someone other than his partner.

With his decision made, he turned his attention to his partner's fight. She was drawing the attention of everyone present as a result of her performance. For the short duration of the fight, she took every fighter and faced them at their own game. She overpowered the larger Cardin and outran the dextrous Russel. When they banded together, she manipulated them into each other. She turned every advantage they had into a weakness. There was no distance or amount of teamwork that could save them from her. She switched between her weapon’s forms and the use of her shield seamlessly. When her blade wasn't fast enough, she disrupted her foes with kicks, knees, and throws. In the end, team CRDL hadn't even scratched her aura by the fight's end.

It was clear from her selection of opponents that she hadn't wanted to learn anything from today. She had said as much to Jaune. Instead, she wanted to teach everyone here a very important lesson. In this tournament, she was the biggest threat. She painted a target on her own back, challenging everyone to come up with their best strategies. Such a brazen display of her talent was sure to give her opponent's the chance to study her style. But it also served to crush their morale. After all, who was arrogant enough to think themselves a match for the Invincible Girl.

“I’ll do it!” A silver-haired boy shouted out in response to Ms. Goodwitch’s search for the next fighter. “But I want to fight her too.”

“Mercury, is it? Ms. Nikos just finished her match. Perhaps it would be better for you to wait, or find a different opponent?” the professor advised.

“No! It’s fine. I’d be happy to oblige.” Said Pyrrha.

From what Jaune understood, this was exactly the kind of thing she was hoping for. Winning one fight against a team was impressive. But defeating any challengers that followed was even better.

Mercury and Pyrrha faced off immediately. Due to his lack of a weapon, there was no need for a delay. Mercury was like Yang in the way that his body was his weapon. Anything else was just an accessory to his style. His kicks impacted Pyrrha’s shield with such force that the sound made Jaune cringe. If that was him out there, he didn’t know if he could wear those blows like Pyrrha was. But as it were, she not only absorbed the force but did so while firing back with her attacks. Her sword flicked out searching for weak spots. Surprisingly, it didn't seem like she found many. It wasn’t until she managed to throw one of his kicks off balance that the fight’s momentum shifted. She raced in to deliver a finishing blow after he dropkicked himself away from her.

“I forfeit!” Mercury suddenly declared.

Pyrrha’s dash to end the fight turned into a near stumble as the shock of the sudden forfeit confused her.

“You’re not even going to try?” she asked.

“Why bother. You’re a world-renowned fighter. We’re leagues apart.” He responded.

Ms. Goodwitch ended the match, scolding Mercury for his lack of forethought. As soon as she was finished, Jaune shouted out his challenge.

“I-”

“I challenge Jaune Arc.” Someone interrupted, cutting over him by a fraction of a second.

Turning his head to see who it was, he saw that his challenger was Neptune.

Jaune made his way down to the arena. He hadn’t seen Neptune fight before and so he had no clue what he was getting himself into. He also didn’t know why, out of everyone, Neptune wanted to fight him.

“Sup.” Neptune coolly asked.

“Not much?” Jaune responded, somewhat confused by his opponent's casual attitude. He had to be up to something, but it seemed like the whole encounter held no importance to him.

Ms. Goodwitch would get angry with them if they wasted too much time talking. He readied himself for combat and awaited the signal.

Not knowing what his opponent was capable of, he decided not to enter the fight at top pace. He would start slow and try to work things out.

Neptune’s weapon, as it turned out, was a polearm of some sort that used electricity to enhance its attacks. Jaune knew right away not to let that hit him or his metal gear. Jaune deactivated his shield and left it on his hip. He would be safer with a free hand, rather than a target for his opponent to aim for.

The reach difference between them was quite an advantage for Neptune. Jaune was tall and his sword increased his reach by several feet. Useful against someone like Yang. But when your opponent had a several foot reach advantage over that, it meant you had to force your way into range. Something that Jaune wasn't necessarily used to.

Neptune was no rookie when it came to pressing his advantage either. He stuck to jabs and straight thrusts with an emphasis on speed. With his lightning dust infusing his strikes, he didn't need to hit hard. The thrusts allowed Neptune to recover quickly and doesn't cause him to overextend. But it also allowed Jaune the chance to try and slip into range. Unfortunately, as soon as Jaune tried, Neptune would switch to sweeping attacks. To make it through the barrage, an ordinary fighter would need to be fast and incredibly light on their feet.

Jaune had a better idea. The dangerous end would hurt him just as much as any bladed weapon. But the pole was much less dangerous. Jaune did not doubt that Pyrrha's wooden sword would pack more of a punch in close range. He may not have his shield, but Jaune was still more than capable of blocking with his left arm. Compared to when Pyrrha had landed direct hits on his auraless body, a strike to the arm was nothing. The strategy worked so well, that Jaune had been surprised enough to let Neptune get away. Neptune knew what he was planning now. But Jaune's confidence in his ability to weather the blow gave him new options.

Jaune once again dodged the jabs that came his way. When a strike strayed mere inches from Jaune's center, he dodged into Neptune's guard. Neptune made his best effort to backstep as fast as possible while firing back with a sweep. Jaune would be hard-pressed to block it with his forearm in this position, which is why he instead caught it with his hand.

Neptune's weapon was naturally heavier on the end that Jaune had caught it. This gave Jaune the leverage he needed to pull Neptune by his weapon into a swing that landed clean on his abdomen. In a single exchange, Jaune had taken the majority of his opponent's aura out. One more blow li ke that would end the match.

Neptune, in response, switched his weapon out of spear form and into the form of a gun. The shots he fired flew slower than the ordinary bullet and more like the missiles Yang used. Jaune was more than capable of dodging them with a little help from his aura to boost his dexterity.

The fight would continue this way until Neptune ran out of ammunition. At least, it would have had he not thrown something new into the mix. A small blue crystal drifted through the air until it was shot by one of his bullets. An explosion of water surged forward, drenching Jaune from head to toe.

It didn't take a genius to know that water and electricity did not mix. Jaune immediately dashed as fast as possible away from the soaked ground to a dry patch. Jaune turned to watch his opponent and ensure he wasn't shot from behind. What he saw wasn't the gun-wielding student, but something much more unexpected.

Behind him, all the water which should have been on the ground was following him as one amorphous blob. It was fast too, faster than Jaune was able to run, and it certainly wouldn’t get tired as he would. Jaune looked to Neptune, expecting to see the confident visage of someone who was about to win a match. Instead what he saw was a look of fierce determination and concentration.

The ball inevitably caught up with Jaune, trapping him inside and lifting him from the ground. Neptune approached with his electrified weapon at the ready.

_At least I didn’t make it easy for him._

**/-/**

The shock had rendered him unconscious for a time. His aura was unable to ward off the effects of full body electrification. When he came too, most of the fighting had already finished. He would have to speak with his team to get the details. First, though, he wanted to get to the bottom of why that fight even happened. If it was just Neptune wanting to show off, then he’d move on without question, Pyrrha had done the same. But the way he looked when he fought left Jaune with the feeling that there was something more.

For now, though, Jaune was particularly comfortable. He had earned just a few extra minutes of rest.

“I think he’s awake now guys,” Pyrrha said from suspiciously close by.

Caught in the act of pretending to sleep, he decided he might as well open his eyes and stop pretending. When he did, he realized why he had been so comfortable.

“Glad you could finally join us Jaune. Did you enjoy your nap?” Pyrrha said with a smirk.

His head was rested in her lap and she had been stroking his hair like he was a pet cat. As good as it felt when she ran her fingers through his hair, it was a little awkward, so he quickly sat himself up.

“Very funny. I need to talk to Neptune.” Said Jaune.

“That’s interesting, he said he wanted to talk to you when you woke up as well. I hope he isn't using those bardic charms to woo you too.”

Jaune rolled his eyes. “Ha ha. Hey Neptune!”

It seemed Pyrrha had made no exaggeration in saying he wanted to talk as well. As soon as he knew Jaune had called him, he cut off his conversation with Weiss, Sun, and Blake and came straight over.

“Hey bro. Good fight.” Said Neptune.

“Thanks, you too. Pyrrha said you wanted to talk to me? If I’m honest I had a few questions too.”

“Yeah, I figured you might. Didn’t expect me to challenge you huh?” Jaune shook his head. “In fairness, I didn’t plan on it either, I was kind of talked into it. After what happened the other day Sun thought he’d be his usual self and try to stick his nose in it a little.”

“The other day as in...?”

“You freaking out on us in the middle of a mission. I think he’s been wanting to pay you back for saving his ass, Blake’s too from what I heard. So when he heard you were struggling with this, he wanted me to fight you.”

Jaune blinked at him in confusion. “What? Why?”

“Well, I guess it’s because we’re in a similar situation. Kind of. You’re afraid of fire, or maybe not afraid... Whatever. Would you believe me if I said I was afraid of water?” Neptune laughed awkwardly.

“You’re kidding, right? Your Semblance is water control and you’re afraid of water?” Jaune asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, I know. It’s hard to believe, but it is true. When I was a kid I didn't know how to swim. My older brother threw me into a river near our place and in my panic, I activated my Semblance for the first time. Pushed all the water away from myself."

"Then why are you scared of water, you can’t drown with that kind of power?"

"I can't, sure. But the people around me could. All that water I thought I was drowning in? I wrapped it around my brother and trapped him in it. I didn't know how to deactivate it. If he didn't unlock his Semblance at that same time and turn the water into vapors I would have killed him."

Oh.

"That's... rough dude. But if it's that bad, how do you do it? I can only last a few seconds in a controlled environment. Anything longer or more stressful and I start seeing things."

Neptune laughed. “It’s been years, that's the only answer. I still hate water in all forms. I’ve just learned a few tricks to deal with it. These goggles, for example, I never take these off. I always shower instead of bathe. Check the weather for rain. That sort of thing. When it comes to using my Semblance, I hold my breath. The problem never went away, I just learned to trick my mind into thinking it’s safe.”

“Well... thanks, I guess. I mean, I am thankful, you didn’t have to. I guess my concern is just that I’m not sure what to do with that information. It’s hard to trick someone into thinking fire isn’t going to burn you.”

“I can’t help you there bro. Anyway... I should get going. Thanks for the fight.” Neptune said with a wave.

“That was nice of him,” Pyrrha said from his side.

“It was yeah. Meet up for training later?”

“Actually...” Pyrrha trailed off. “I kind of want to stop training with you and start training by myself until the tournament is over.”

“What? Why?” Jaune asked.

“Well... I guess the reason I have is a little bit silly.”

Jaune waited for her to explain herself as she fidgeted awkwardly.

“You kind of made a promise a little while back. Well... Not a promise, but you got my hopes up a little. You said that you’d take my status as the invincible girl away from me."

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, I remember saying something like that. What does that have to do with our training though?"

"Well... You can only do that in a proper match, like the one we have coming. We might not even face each other, you or our team could get knocked out in the earlier rounds. But I want to see you make it happen, and I want there to be no excuses when you do.”

“You want me to beat you, so you’re going to stop training me? You know I’m not at that level yet. I’m pretty sure I might have said something about the next 4 years of training as part of that.”

“I know! But can you imagine how exciting it would be? The Vytal Festival is only held once every two years and from the third year onwards we aren’t allowed to compete. We don’t get a second shot like this. Besides, I think you have a real chance of making this a reality. This last week you've just exploded. It's like something in your mind clicked. You always seemed comfortable with a sword in your hand, but now youre approaching a new level."

Pyrrha stood up and pulled Jaune to his feet.

“I want to fight you. I want to see what you’ll become after a few more weeks of training. What you’ll do when the whole world is watching you fight. I want the whole world to see just who Jaune Arc is. But I don’t want to spoil it by being by your side every step of the way.”

She seemed so passionate, but at the same time, there was a hint of desperation. Pyrrha Nikos; equal parts ordinary girl and champion fighter. She craved real relationships with her peers just as much as she craved the thrill of battle with an equal. She wanted to fight him. What other choice did he have but to accept?

“Fine, no more training together, but what am I supposed to do in the meantime. I’ve only come this far thanks to you.” Jaune asked.

He didn't want to disappoint her. But there were certain realities he had to face. All his growth as a swordsman came as a result of her tutelage. He put in the hard work, but she provided the catalyst. Without that, he wasn't sure if he could handle her at her best in just a few weeks. The professor would help in parts surely, but without the daily training she put him through...

“Don’t worry. I have the perfect thing. I don’t want to watch you train, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help you. I’ll send a few training videos to your scroll, enough to last a good while. You can follow along with those and it’s like I’ll have never even left. That way you can always keep me with you.” She said the last part with a wink.

Training videos. It wasn’t a bad idea. Certainly not a replacement for the real thing in terms of quality, but he could repeat them over in his own time.

“Okay, you win. Send them through and I’ll do my best. If we are going to do this though, I need to start taking it seriously. I’m going to see the professor and get started right now.”

Pyrrha nodded furiously, bouncing on her heels in excitement.

_Time to see what I can squeeze out of Oz._

**/-/**

“It’s good to see you again Jaune. It's been a week or so since our last meeting. Do you think you’ve worked it out?” the professor asked.

“No, but I’m going to give my answer anyway. I’m all of a sudden in a rush and don’t have time to try and impress.”

Oz thoughtfully hummed and sipped from his mug. “Very interesting, I’m sure you’ll tell me all about that in due time. For now, let’s hear it.”

“You want me to learn some kind of prediction ability. Reading my opponent’s body, personality, and emotions to work out what they’ll do next.”

“I’d say you did a decent job of gathering this much information. Considering that you weren’t dedicating all your time to searching at least. But you’re only getting a 3 out of 5. You’re missing some important details. The first would be that it’s not just your opponent I want you to read, but your environment and the battle itself too. Vacuans learn to read the sands and the clouds from the moment they’re born to read for signs of danger. In a battle, this means looking for ways you can turn a location into an advantage. Put the sun in their eyes, trip their feet over tree roots, everything is a weapon.”

Jaune nodded, absorbing the knowledge as best he could. Like all other things he had learned, it was something he and many others did on a subconscious level.

“You missed the most important part though. You aren’t just going to be reading the information and working out their next move. You’re going to control the flow of information. It’s not just enough to see that they fight sloppy when angry, you have to make them angry. If they create a blindside when they kick with their left leg you have to make them kick. And if your opponent is reading you in the same way, you have to be able to mask your intentions. Observe.”

The professor stood up from his desk and settled his mug. He took a very simple stance, similar to Yang’s in the way it looked like it emphasized punches.

“I’m going to punch you with my left hand. All you have to do is not get hit. Understand?” Oz asked.

Jaune nodded, taking a basic stance of his own to swat the hand away.

“I’m serious, left hand. Do you understand?” he asked once more.

“Yeah, I got it, left hand,” Jaune responded.

The professor nodded, then slowly pulled his right hand back as if he was to throw a right straight punch.

His right hand slowly reached out, like he was punching in slow motion.

_This is pretty weak as far as feints-_

Jaune felt it at that moment. The feeling that he was in danger. The hairs on his neck stood up and chills ran down his spine. The source of this feeling was the professor’s right hand which twitched no more than an inch. Jaune’s mind raced through the possibilities. Was it a trick when he had said he would throw a left? Or was this a feint.

He didn’t need to think about it for long. The professor’s left fist tapped against his stomach in that brief moment of distraction.

“That is what I want you to learn. Reading your opponent is the first step. Stopping your opponent from reading you is the second. A splash of misdirected blood lust and a feint was all I needed to make you hesitate. A dash of hesitation is all you need to land a strike. As you grow more skilled you can read through your opponent’s deceptions while stacking up your own. Every sense working together in perfect harmony. Enough of that though, how goes the auraless sparring?”

“It’s pretty effective. I gained a few levels in my sword skill these last few weeks and it came in handy in today’s spar.”

“I imagine it would have. Pain is a great motivation for training, but that’s not all. The pain itself is part of your growth. With aura you can stop a blade from cutting you, but you’ll still feel much of the impact itself. A high-level fighter can break bones even through your aura. But if you strengthen your bones and acclimatize to the pain you can pull off some quite useful tricks. Nothing is more intimidating than having your sword caught in the hands of an opponent and they don’t even blink.”

_That explains that training I suppose._

“Not to be rude, but while I appreciate the explanation, I want you to start training me properly. No more sending me on reading assignments or tweaking my training here and there. I want you to teach me like you promised you would.”

“You know there is no need to rush-”

“There is a need! During the Vytal Festival, I want to beat my partner in a fair fight. I don't care about winning the festival itself. I'll be happy coming second last, as long as I beat my partner. I want you to help me become strong enough to make that happen.”

The professor smiled. “Happy with second last as long as you beat your partner hmm? Well, you’re in luck Jaune. With the dance and then the student’s away missions coming up, I find myself with a lot of spare time.”

“So you’re saying…?”

“Meet me in the training grounds in half an hour.”

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 11**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 22 (55) [+3]**

**Fortitude: 25 (62)**

**Dexterity: 16 (40) [+3]**

**Aura: 30/30**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **???**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.

 **[Aura Control: Level 5]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 25%   
All Aura abilities are 50% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 4]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 14(21) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 4]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 14(21) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(225)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 4]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 100(150) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 4]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 14(21) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.9xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 7]**   
Aura Recovery Rate +170% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 8] (Passive)  
** Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 9] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 90%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 9%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 45%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 7] (Passive)  
** Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 70%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 35%

 **[Hand to Hand Skill: Level 4] (Passive)  
** Increase damage with all unarmed attacks by 20%  
Increase hit rate with all unarmed attacks by 4%  
Increase unarmed defense efficiency by 20%

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de** **grâce** **!]  
** A finishing blow to an injured opponent.  
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.  
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.  
Cooldown 3 seconds.  
Recharge 60 seconds.


	30. Willpower I

_Crack_

“Damn it!” Jaune shouted in pain.

“You’re not using all your senses Jaune,” Oz instructed.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed. Maybe that has something to do with the blindfold I’m wearing!” He yelled back.

Jaune had thought it sounded so much more impressive, like something out of a comic book. ‘Open your mind’s eye; use all your senses’. What he hadn’t mentioned was the process. The last several minutes had involved the professor striking with his cane. All while blindfolded.

“Concentrate. Every. Sense.” Oz said, causing Jaune to whip around to where he had spoken from.

_Crack_

“Ow! Screw you old man!”

“It’s not enough to just use your ears. Sound can be a warning. It can let you know something is coming. But it is too slow and unreliable to use in place of your sight. You will hear the whistling of the arrow, but be unable to catch it.”

“What am I supposed to do then, sniff you out?” Jaune sarcastically asked.

“If you believe your nose is keen enough. My cologne has some wonderful sandalwood tones if that helps.”

_Smug bastard._

Jaune breathed deeply. The grassy slightly sweet scent of the forest they were training in pervaded his senses. A gentle breeze blew in from his left, with it a new smell. Slightly earthy, like nuts or timber.

Jaune immediately raised his shield in the direction the breeze had come.

_Crack_

Jaune in frustration lashed out with his sword toward the side where he had once again been struck. Jaune's sword cut through naught but air and the professor laughed from further away.

“You’ve got a good nose after all, well done! Do keep in mind that a scent travels even slower than sound. By the time that breeze reached you, I had plenty of time to move. It is much better for tracking an unmoving target than one amid combat. For this reason, let’s skip taste as well shall we?”

“If you think I’m going to be ta-”

_Crack_

“Damnit Oz! Let me finish my sentences at least!”

_I can’t see him. He is intentionally using my sense of hearing to distract me. Smell is too slow and taste is out of the question..._

Jaune slowly reached out with his hand to feel for the professor. In response, he received a more gentle smack on the wrist.

“Very funny Jaune.” The professor chuckled.

_And touch is clearly not going to work..._

_Or is it?_

Jaune slowly pushed his aura outwards from his body, creating a 1-meter thick bubble around his body.

“Now we are getting somewhere. Aura is the 6th sense of sorts, for those that know how to use it.” Oz said from his left.

The end of the professor’s cane came thrusting in from his right a fraction of a second after he spoke. Jaune didn’t have time to move his shield, so he redirected the strike with his sword.

“Good. Good. Now how long can you keep this up?” he asked.

Jaune barely had time to react as he was forced to fend off a more frequent flurry of blows. They came in the form of thrusts. Always from different directions and without an easily discernible pattern. With only a meter of forewarning, he had a fraction of a second to respond to each strike. It was manageable, but not sustainable.

Jaune’s aura was still drained from his fight with Neptune earlier. The use of his aura awareness was draining what he had left at a consistent rate. He had maybe 15-20 minutes of this left in him, and even then, it wasn’t a perfect solution.

“I know there’s something I’m missing Oz. This would be a lot faster if you just told me.” Jaune said as he deflected another strike.

“Quicker, certainly. But some lessons stick when learned the hard way. You answer your questions along the way.” The professor responded.

Jaune grumbled to himself as he deflected several more strikes.

“Fine. A hint then. Give me a hint.” Jaune asked.

“Aura Awareness can mean two things,” Oz replied.

_What? It’s two words, how much extra meaning can it have?_

Something struck Jaune in the side before he had a chance to react to it. Smaller and moving at much faster speeds, Jaune’s aura barely registered it before it struck him and bounced to the ground.

“Remember, this isn’t training to improve your reactions. This is training to let you predict your opponent. The faster your opponent, the more difficult it becomes to fight like you are. Action is always better than reaction.”

_Aura awareness... Aura and Awareness._

_Smack._

“You know I could think a lot better if you weren’t throwing whatever those are at me,” Jaune shouted in frustration.

“Consider it motivation. They’re rocks by the way. Wonderful tools for training at every level.” Jaune could hear the professor’s smirk as he said that.

Another rock slammed into Jaune’s side, eliciting a grunt of pain.

_If only I could see where he was, I’d know where these rocks are coming from._

Several more direct hits later, Jaune’s aura reached its limit.

“Time out, I need to recover my aura,” Jaune said as he reached up to remove the blindfold.

A rock struck him in the hand, stopping him from doing so.

“What the hell Oz? I’m out of aura I can’t use the skill anymore!”

A flash of green from behind caused him to spin counter-clockwise and raise his shield. For the first time, Jaune managed to block one of the projectiles.

_Wait... Green? But I’m blindfolded, I can’t see._

Another flash, larger this time, and it didn’t disappear as quickly as the first. Jaune swung out with his sword in its direction. To his surprise, his sword met resistance and the sound of steel on steel rang out.

“Finally. It took a while to get your mind focused on aura but then you were too concerned with your own to register any other. Using your aura to ‘see’ can be a valuable tool in the dark, but even more valuable is being able to ‘see’ aura. Tell me, what do you see right now?” the professor asked.

Jaune tried to concentrate on what he could ‘see’. It was little more than a small ember. A green flame that hovered at chest height in his mind’s eye.

“It’s like a small dot, it’s green.” He answered.

“Is that all you can see? All living things have aura. Perhaps you just need more training to increase your awareness, no matter, you can see my aura.”

Slowly the professor’s aura grew in size. It stretched outwards into a roughly human shape. From its right hand, the aura extended several feet in the shape of the professor’s cane.

“This is what it looks like when I’m using my aura. Pay attention to the way it moves and where it is strongest. These are signs that reveal your opponent’s plan. You can ignore the sword they’re swinging if they have channeled their aura into a dagger in their offhand.”

Jaune pushed the professor away, straining to maintain the image of his professor. When the professor struck back, Jaune lifted his shield to defend. Though it wasn’t perfect, it had stopped the blow.

“I can see it,” Jaune responded. He blocked another strike and counter attacked where he saw his professor’s aura.

The professor jumped back from Jaune. “That is enough for now then. Getting you to be able to see aura was the first step, we will work on how precise you are later. You can take off your blindfold Jaune.”

Doing so, Jaune scrunched his eyes up as the sunlight hit his unadjusted eyes. When his eyes were able to see, he was greeted with a strange sight. The professor’s green aura overlapped with his body and flowed around the surface of his cane. It was as if he was looking at two different images that overlapped. Neither was clear, but nor were they blurred as one.

“It can take some time getting used to; it should wear off in a few minutes. For now, though, let’s move on. That new ability will be useful in strengthening your intuition. But your ability to read opponents is only useful if you can do something with it. As such, it’s time to add a new weapon to your arsenal.”

“A new weapon?” Jaune excitedly asked.

“Yes, though not in the literal sense. Perhaps it would be more fitting to call it a tool. Tell me, do you know why the Grimm are attracted to negativity? Why they are attracted to those with aura?” Jaune shook his head. “The two are connected. Aura is a part of every living thing. It is part of your soul. Something that the Grimm do not have. Emotions can be considered the purest language of the soul, untainted by words or thought. The Grimm can sense our emotions, and they feed off fear and hatred and regret more than any other. I’ll leave the history and physiology of Grimm to your other teachers, but there is an important lesson to learn. Our aura serves as a magnifier for our emotions and can be broadcast outwards to be detected by others. You have felt it before passively, but you’re going to learn to control it. That is going to be your new weapon. But to wield it, will require more than a fair share of willpower.”

Jaune nodded. “I can handle that, what is it?”

"To force your will onto another, you need to push through their natural defenses. You need to heighten your emotions so that they can reach their target. Were you like your partner, I would suggest drawing upon her confidence in her skills as a warrior. Something she has built over years of victory. It would make her seem larger than life, unbeatable. It would shake her opponent’s resolve.”

“I can see how that would be a problem…” Jaune muttered.

“Do not give up so soon, you have something just as powerful, if not more so than your partner. It’s a core part of what made me so interested in you Jaune. At times it may come across as desperation, foolishness even. Like a cornered rat.” Jaune grumbled. “But I and many others have seen through those preconceptions. You have dedication, determination, and resolve. When it comes to the things you believe in, you are an unshakeable wall. One that will surrender no ground and will not be shaken. That is what you should draw on. Your willingness to do whatever it takes to protect and save.”

Awkwardly rubbing his neck to try and hide his embarrassment he asked, “Okay, so what do I have to do then?”

"It's different for everyone. This isn't an aura technique, but you must treat your aura as a mirror that reflects emotion into the world. Your state of mind is what's important. Summon your resolve and drown everything in it, let it flow from your body. From there, focus it like a laser and burn me with it. Your heart and soul must become a sword with which to strike me down. You must see it, visualization is very important, but it’s different for everyone. What will you do? How will you do it?"

_Right… Unshakeable wall. Protect and save. Strike down the professor._

_…_

“Yeah I mean, I get I’m supposed to feel like that. But you’re just… not a threat.”

“Then picture someone who is and draw upon how you felt at those times. How you would feel if you let something like that happen again. Perhaps it’s not the positive emotion of wanting to protect. But instead the refusal to allow yourself to feel how you did when you failed. Tell me Jaune, how did you feel when your partner was forced to take a bullet for you?”

“What?!” Jaune exclaimed, stepping away from the professor.

“Don’t talk, remember. How did it feel when you were the only thing standing between your partner and her death. For that matter, how does it feel when you see any of your friends hurt?”

Visions of Pyrrha with blood pouring from her leg entered his mind. Following them was Yang, slammed through several feet of concrete by Roman Torchwick. Finally, he remembered Blake. Fear was written all over her face as her body froze and fell before the visage of her tormentor.

“Who did these things Jaune?” the professor asked loudly.

_The White Fang. Roman Torchwick. Adam._

“Are you going to let them do it again?” Oz prompted.

Jaune felt no need to hold back and yelled back, “No!”

“How? Will you put yourself in harm’s way for them? Will you take the damage that was meant for them?”

“Yes!”

“Would you kill for them?”

Jaune froze. His confidence was shaken by the simple question. Would he kill for his friends? Could he bring himself to cross that line intentionally? Without the excuse of it being an accident?

“Is this all your conviction is worth? Are your morals worth more than your friends’ lives? Are you going to condemn their families to a life without their children? Because if you can’t take this step, that’s exactly what you’re doing. If you can’t find your conviction right now, you never will. You’ll always fall short.”

_I won’t be weak anymore. I won’t let my inability get anyone hurt, not again._

“I will do… Whatever it takes…” Jaune resolved.

“Prove it.”

You have unl-

Jaune didn’t bother paying any attention to the notification. All he could feel was the sensation of pressure that was both pressing onto him and pouring out of him.

“That’s it Jaune. Remember this feeling! Remember and hold onto it. You are the shield that protects your friends! You are the mountain that moves for nothing. You are the mighty oak that weathers the strongest storms. You are Jaune Arc!”

**[Willpower] is now level 1.**

With every declaration, Jaune could feel that sensation inside of him grow. He could picture it inside his mind as clear as day.

The professor smiled and closed his eyes. “Good, that’s good. I could almost see it. But you’re still young and lack experience. An oak you might be one day, but for now, merely an acorn. It would be best to ensure you know your limits.”

When the professor reopened his eyes, it was as if the whole world had turned black and white. All of that pressure that had been flowing out of him was stopped dead in its tracks. The breath caught in his lungs and his legs began to shake. For the briefest of moments, he forgot he was dealing with his professor. It felt more like he was facing an army.

But just as soon as it had appeared, the feeling was gone.

“You’ll need training to summon that power faster. With aura like yours, it should be easy to see some decent results out of minimal training.” The professor cheerily explained. “Speed, as well as more power, and the control to direct it where you need it. For now, though, I would recommend we stop for today.”

“I can keep going…” Jaune protested.

“I’m sure you could. If you so desire it, you can continue your training once you’re back. However, as it stands, you’re covered in sweat. When all that adrenaline wears off you’ll find you’re more tired than you realize. Go do something that helps you relax, have something to eat, and have a shower.”

Jaune looked down at his hands. They were clammy and it took considerable effort to relinquish his grip on his blade. With a nod, he thanked the professor for his time. Perhaps a long shower wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.

**/-/**

“Jaune. You normally use the showers in our dorm, don’t you?” Ren asked as Jaune walked in on him in the communal showers.

“Training got a little bit more intense than usual. I didn’t want to hog the shower back at our dorm.”

“Mhm. I can relate to that.”

Talking to Ren after the training he had just been through had him feeling a little bit soft. Imagining his teammates getting hurt reminded him of how important they were. Ren in particular was the perfect outlet. He is rarely judgemental and always understanding even when he disagreed. It was for this reason that Jaune blurted out what he did.

“You know Ren... You are one of my best friends. These past few months, I feel like we’ve really bonded. Even though you don’t say much. You’re a super insightful guy, but you’re really quiet. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know that much about you personally... But darn it, I consider you to be the brother I never had!”

After a few moments to reflect, Ren responded. “And I, you.”

“You’ve always been happy to help me when I needed it, sometimes without me even asking for it. And yet, you don’t try to pry. You’re a really cool guy, you know? I just want you to know, that if there is ever anything I can do for you, let me know.”

Jaune undressed completely and got under the shower a few spaces away from Ren. It was a little awkward having this conversation under these conditions. But it was something he just had to say. Pyrrha and Ren were the sole reason he could use his aura as well as he can.

“Could you pass the shampoo?” Ren asked.

Jaune did so, making sure he put some in his hair before giving it to the boy who would likely use it all.

“Not exactly what I meant. I mean like really help you. Do you need a wingman to help you get with Nora? Maybe a wingman to help Nora get with someone else?” Ren frowned at that suggestion. “If it’s in my power I’d like to try.”

Ren quietly washed out his hair, leaving Jaune to wonder if his question would go unanswered. Ren didn’t normally ignore you when you ask a direct question. With that said, he also wasn’t normally answering questions like this.

“Can you let Nora and I pick the mission in a few days? We... I would like to make good on a small promise we made when we were younger. We don’t get many opportunities to take away missions. I’d like ours to take us to a village on the outskirts so we can do some extermination and border patrol.” Ren finally responded.

“Oh right, we have missions soon don’t we?” Jaune idly replied, thinking over what Ren had said.

He had no issue with the request of course, and if it meant something to his friends he was more than happy to oblige.

“Yes, right after the dance tomorrow night.”

“The dance?”

“Yeah, tomorrow.”

Jaune raced out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist.

“Ren, you can definitely choose the mission. But I’ve got to go. Thanks for the talk bye!” He shouted as he left the room entirely.

_I can’t believe I forgot! It’s been one thing after another but that dance is tomorrow and I haven’t asked Pyrrha yet. I’ve got to hurry!_

Jaune raced through the halls, still equipped with nothing more than his towel.

A quick apology was shouted to Ms. Goodwitch who he nearly bowled over as he dashed around a corner. A similarly quick middle finger was given to Yang as she wolf-whistled him as he ran past. Finally, the door to his room was busted down.

“Pyrrha!” Jaune practically shouted into the room.

“What?!” Pyrrha shouted back in surprise. “Oh. Jaune, it’s just... just...”

Jaune grabbed her by the shoulders or one of them at least. He had the common sense to continue holding onto his towel.

“I have something very important to ask you,” Jaune said, trying his best not to sound out of breath after his sprint. His voice came out sounding much deeper and breathier than his usual timbre.

“Wha?” Pyrrha eloquently responded.

“I like you a lot Pyrrha. Spending time with you is something I look forward to every day, you know?”

“Ahuh?” She nodded and shook her head.

Jaune spared a thought to wonder if she was sick. She looked a little bit dizzy and her face was flushed. He moved his hand up from her shoulder to cup her cheek. Sure enough, she was quite warm. She grew even warmer under his touch.

Jaune decided it would be in her best interest to sit down in case she fell. He gently guided her to the closest bed, his own.

“I want to spend more time with you. Especially now that we’re not training together. A night just for the two of us, where we can forget all about the tournament and training and the White Fang. A night to make a memory that will last forever, or at least until the tournament is over.”

Pyrrha’s eyes glanced down to his waist then trailed up his chest to his eyes. Jaune hadn’t ever been as bold, or as confident as he was right now and it showed in the look he was giving her. Some might call it desperate, hungry almost. She glanced at the door which had closed itself after his entry.

Slowly, she closed her eyes and leaned towards him.

“So I wanted to know if you would be my date to the dance tomorrow.” Jaune finally asked, cutting to the heart of the matter.

Pyrrha maintained her position for a few seconds. Suddenly her eyes shot open and she bounced several feet away.

“Dance?” she asked, making strong eye contact with a bedside lamp and fanning her face with her hands.

“Yeah, you know? Tomorrow? I heard Yang say that she and Weiss were organizing it, so you know it’s going to be great. It’s a... you know, it’s one of those things where you bring a date. There’s going to be music and we move in time to it.”

“I know what a dance is Jaune, I just...” she trailed off.

“Just what? Is something wrong Pyrrha? You were looking pretty out of it a few seconds ago. You shouldn’t push yourself so hard in training.”

Pyrrha sighed. “Nevermind. You weren’t doing it on purpose.”

“You can tell me if I did something wrong, I can handle it.”

“No, I think I’ll save us both from that. Can we just start over? In fact, could you put some clothes on, come back, and then pretend like none of that ever happened?”

Jaune awkwardly laughed as he remembered his current state of dress. He grabbed the first thing he could find and retreated to the bathroom to get changed. Upon his return, he caught Pyrrha chugging an entire bottle’s worth of water.

“I didn’t realize you were so thirsty Pyrrha, sorry about that.” Jaune earnestly commented.

Pyrrha nearly choked.

Through a coughing fit, she asked, “You had something to ask me?”

“Uhhh, yeah. I suppose I’ll start from the start?” Pyrrha nodded as he sat beside her once more. “I like you a lot. More than anyone else... More than Ren.”

They both laughed.

“The dance is coming up, and I know it’s late notice, I’m sorry for that by the way. Things have been... hectic. But if you would have me, I’d like to take you as my date. Officially I mean, not just because we are partners or because neither of us has other people to go with... Not that you couldn’t get someone else if you’d wanted of course. You’re... you! What I’m trying to say is that we could make a date of it.”

“You know Jaune, you somehow did a better job when you were three-quarters naked.”

“Should I get back in the towel?” Jaune asked with a smirk.

Pyrrha slapped him on the arm. “No, and don’t do that again unless... Just don’t do that again okay? I don’t think my heart could cope.”

“I haven’t heard a yes or a no yet.” Said Jaune with a laugh.

“Of course, I’ll go to the dance with you. I’ve been waiting for you to ask long enough that I was worried you’d forgotten about it. You shouldn’t make a girl wait, Jaune.”

“Right, right. In that case, you know, to avoid making you wait. What time should I come to pick you up?”

“7 will be fine Jaune.” She yawned. “Now how about we get some sleep?”

Jaune was still riding the high of her answer, but her yawn had been contagious. He soon realized how tired he was starting to feel. In truth, his aura was almost empty and his body was sore all over. Sleep took him swiftly.

**/-/**

Sometime during the night Ren and Nora both had snuck back into the room. This much was evident when Jaune awoke at the crack of dawn and found the pair asleep in their beds. Ren had been kind enough to bring the belongings Jaune had left behind and placed them at the foot of his bed.

One stacked breakfast later, Jaune began his training once again. Tonight was spoken for, and with missions after that, he didn’t have time to waste. The second semester would be over in no time, and when it did, the tournament would begin.

Jaune went straight to the gym to run through his usual routine. Strength and fortitude were important, no matter how good his aura augmentation got. Base attributes raise the efficiency of the ability and also reduced how often he would need to use it. On a real mission, draining that much aura was too costly. When missions could take hours or days, 30 minutes of aura didn't cut it. That's why high base stats were invaluable.

As he trained, Jaune tried to activate his aura awareness in the way he had learned. As it turned out, it wasn’t quite as easy as he had hoped. The professor's aura had been a rich green, easy to see even when not in use. In comparison, the aura of the students who drifted in and out of the gym was pale and weak. The unfocused nature of their aura caused it to spill out and evaporate into the space around them. Not enough to cause their aura to drop, but enough that their recovery was likely slower than it could be.

Jaune's concentration came undone during a squat rep when he was all of a sudden assaulted by a field of aura. The surprise of the sudden and very visible aura nearly bowling him over. Fox; a member of team CFVY had entered the gym. The aura was his way of checking to ‘see’ if anyone else was inside or not.

Racking his weight, he approached the older student. “Hey Fox, you got to teach me how you deal with seeing as you do.”

“That’s an interesting way to say hello,” Fox replied.

“I’ve been practicing my aura awareness, I was actually doing it right when you walked in. Just about knocked me over with that pulse of yours.”

“Oh?” he smirked. “You’d have to be one of the very few students in this school who could even make that complaint. Not many people bother or know to train their senses to see aura.”

“Yeah I guess, but unlike you, I’m not maintaining it 24/7. How do you do it? There’s got to be people using their aura spontaneously all over the place. It was like a flashbang.”

Fox laughed. “That’s because you’re still a newbie. Not that I can relate, but I’ve been told it’s like sitting in a dark room your whole life and seeing the sun for the first time. Of course, your eyes will be sensitive. Get used to it over time, and you’ll not want to stop seeing the aura around you. Again, blind here, but the colors are fascinating.”

Jaune scratched his chin for a moment. “Can I see yours? I only learned yesterday. If people aren’t using their aura it looks wispy and faint, though yours is considerably more refined. Maybe not as much as the instructors, but it’s impressive.”

“Why don’t we make this a ‘you show me yours and I’ll show you mine’ deal. As for why my aura looks more ‘refined’ as you put it, it’s because of my control. You’ve probably realized, but the average person doesn't think about their aura all the time. They haven’t trained that kind of control. So subconsciously it wanders, similar to daydreaming for an unfocused mind I suppose.”

Jaune absorbed that information and locked it away as soon as he heard it. He’d just described how someone can judge an opponent’s current level of focus and aura control. Invaluable information for his intuition skill.

“Sure, I don’t see the harm,” Jaune responded.

_Not since you’ve been so helpful._

Jaune decided to be completely honest with Fox and show him his aura as best he could. 100% of his aura was brought out as a shield across the entirety of his body. The action itself didn’t take much effort. It was almost entirely subconscious after his months of training. But he endeavored to try and heighten the effect by willing it to come through stronger.

Fox whistled. “You’re a pretty dense guy huh? Just joking, of course, I meant your aura. You’ve got like triple the average. Your control is okay, you’re still sort of leaking a bit at the edges, but it’s decent. Not often you see white aura either.”

Jaune hadn’t realized that his white aura was so rare, considering he had only seen his professor’s green and his own. The paleness of everyone else’s had left there’s with a pseudo-white color to it. Fox’s aura though, was much less transparent. The pulse that he had sent out earlier did not do it any justice. It was orange, or perhaps caramel, rich and wild, with almost as much clarity as the professors. For however long he had been blind he had been using and training his aura, and this was the result.

“Might be stupid to say this about your aura, but it suits you, I guess? My sight probably isn’t as good as yours when it comes to aura, but I can pretty much see how much work you’ve put in.” Said Jaune.

“You’ll get there. You’ve got the passion for it and you’ve got some advantages I would’ve killed for when I was younger.” Fox replied as he deactivated his aura. “Now I don’t know about you, but as nice as it’s been to talk with a fellow ‘aura nerd’ as my leader would put it, I came here to work out.”

“Right, I guess I was finished here. Good talking to you. Tell your team whatever you want about what you’ve learned, I know I plan to.”

Fox laughed. “Guess I can’t expect you to not expect that twice huh? Seeya newbie.”

Jaune left the gym, somehow in an even better mood than he had started in. The interaction with a strong and focused aura up close like that had been stimulating. Jaune instantly leaped into his next morning workout and began running laps. It was an activity he quite enjoyed as a way to shake out his muscles from a workout. Now though, it came with a new benefit.

With his eyes more keenly attuned to aura, every student he passed was a spectacle. Each aura had its unique color and behavior. The aura of the students training out in the yard drew held his attention the longest though. Aura in use was a totally different animal. The way it behaved changed based on what the aura itself was doing.

When repelling damage it was solid and disciplined, yet strangely elastic. A pair sparring with their fists would create small ripples in each other's aura with every blow. For the smaller girl practicing her marksmanship, her aura reflected her breathing. She calmed her mind and aura with every breath. First large, then smaller it would pulse, slowly retreating into her chest. When it condensed into a bright pin-sized orb, a streak of aura flowed into her rifle, activating the dust within.

The more he saw, the more that his excitement grew. The running wasn’t cutting it anymore, he needed some real training and soon.

“Oz, how soon can we meet up for training, I feel like I’m on a roll this morning and I don’t want to lose it.” Jaune texted to his... Well, he still wasn’t sure which title was appropriate. Master felt a little off since they’d only just started.

A few minutes later Jaune received a response.

“Come to my office whenever you want to get started. We have a guest.”

_A guest?_

Jaune raced off, eager to get started, he pushed his way into his office with a complete lack of restraint.

If he is happy to laugh at me as he pelts me with rocks, then he should be happy to deal with me pushing into his office.

“Hey, Oz! I’m here!” Jaune eagerly announced as he walked through the doors of the elevator.

Jaune’s confidence was shaken a little when he realized the ‘guest’ was general Ironwood.

_Whoops._

“Oh, general Ironwood, sorry. I didn’t interrupt anything important did I? Oz said he had a guest but he didn’t specify so I assumed-”

“It’s fine.” The general interrupted. “Oz tends to let people make those assumptions. Just between you and me, I think his sense of humor is a bit lacking.”

_Was that a joke? From the general?_

Jaune couldn’t believe it. Weren’t authority figures supposed to be... intimidating or something?

Jaune decided to just roll with it. “Lacking? It’s utterly twisted. He spent a half-hour throwing rocks at me yesterday and calling it training.”

The general laughed.

“You both know I can hear you, right?” Oz asked, prompting louder laughter from the general. “Never mind. That training you mentioned, did you know it was inspired by the class abilities that James is famous for?”

“You throw rocks as a class skill?” Jaune asked the general.

“I meant the bit after that Jaune,” Oz replied.

“Oh, the willpower thing? I still haven’t taken a good look at that skill yet.”

“You mean to say he actually learned how to perform it? There aren’t many students that know how to perform it. Especially not in their first year or as an actual skill” The general commented with a hint of surprise.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m kind of a special case. I can learn any skill with training. That’s my class in a nutshell.”

“Intriguing. How about you give me a taste then?” The general requested.

With a glance in the professor’s direction, he got permission in the form of a nod.

“I can try. I only really did it once and it’s been a day without trying it again. Do you mind if I draw my sword? I had it out last time and I think it’ll help me.”

The general nodded. He had no reason to be afraid of a 1st-year student with or without a sword.

Jaune drew Crocea Mors and even activated his shield. Jaune took a stance and tried to activate the skill directly. He hoped that it would work similarly to his other abilities. As expected, the system kicked in, activating the skill. Jaune was once again exposed to that strange sensation of his something pouring out of him. Now he just had to focus and enhance the feeling.

To start he directed the flow at the general. It was as simple as willing it. When he did so, he felt like something was pushing back, stopping his willpower from reaching the general.

Jaune tried to use the visualization that Oz had suggested. Something about a tree or a wall, imagining their size and strength. It was all a bit symbolic for Jaune’s taste, and apparently, it showed.

“It’s a good start, but you’ve got a long long way to go. The pressure is a bit weak.” The general commented.

_Weak?_

_Forget the damn tree. I’m an Arc. I’ve got a date with Pyrrha Nikos. There’s not a chance in hell that I’m weak, I can’t afford to be._

Pyrrha had always been a source of strength for Jaune. She was a safety net who was ready to catch him when he failed. She was a partner to fight with and train against. She was a goal to strive towards. She was a bunch of other things that Jaune didn’t want to think about lest the feeling seeped into his aura. It might be a pointless victory in the grand scheme of things. But if he didn’t want to let down his partner, he couldn’t afford to give any weak performances.

Jaune’s aura grew more potent as the thoughts of his partner filled his mind.

“Oh? This apprentice of yours isn’t as green as I thought Oz. But how does he handle opposition?” the general asked, fending off Jaune’s willpower with little effort.

“James, don’t-”

The professor’s protests were too late. The wall of pressure that had been holding Jaune back suddenly grew. It wasn’t some invisible magical anomaly; it was his willpower that he had been feeling. Jaune should have realized that Oz had it, he taught Jaune the ability. He had even said that the technique was normally a paladin class skill.

The general’s aura had looked cyan initially, cool and professional. What he felt was anything but. It was heavy, crushingly so, and incredibly hot.

“A boy like you, regardless of your talent, lacks the real-life experience to truly make an impact. You might feel invincible, but you’re not. There’s always a bigger fish, even for me. Perhaps a taste of my own experience will prove that and help your outlook mature a little.” The general stated.

“That’s enough James. He’s young and-.” Said the professor.

“No hang on, Oz. He’s holding his own quite well.” The general said as he raised a hand to hush the professor. “I want to see whether he can keep it up.”

Jaune was physically reeling from the general’s assault. He didn’t know what memory he was conjuring, but it felt painful. It was hard to breathe with all the simulated pain he could feel in his chest. More than that though, it was hard to stand against the man who was transmitting his emotions from that time. Duty and frustration, so much frustration.

But two could play at that game.

The general had no doubt gone through a lot. He was missing an arm after all. But how would he deal with fire?

Jaune conjured his memories of the explosion. More specifically the scarce moments of consciousness and recovery after the explosion. Jaune’s body tensed up as the image of the flames entered his mind. The sensation of his skin melting frayed his already stressed nerves. His focus with his aura slipped and spread his willpower outwards as his intensity grew. But so too did the general's aura let up as it fought the rising pressure that Jaune was producing.

“Once again Oz, your young apprentice is full of surprises. If I didn’t know better I’d think you’d been training him for longer than the month? Two months? That you have. He’s still rough around the edges though.”

The general placed his hand, his real one, on Jaune’s shoulder. Instantly Jaune was calmed by a mix of foreign emotions.

“You can share a variety of emotions if you wish to. All can be resisted if the target so chooses. As a leader though, the ability to raise morale with little more than your presence is a great boon. I’m sure Oz would have taught you as much eventually, but don’t forget it. You can use this ability to distract your enemies and to enable your allies. But for now, you need to focus on getting yourself under control. No point trying to get your enemies into a frenzy if it puts you out as well.” The general explained.

Jaune nodded, using the man’s comforting aura to lock away the memories he had dragged out.

“If you have finished testing my student, I would like to take him for some training.” The professor cut in.

“Of course Oz, you’ll have to forgive my curiosity. I will see you again tonight.” The general laughed. “I look forward to seeing your performance in the tournament Jaune.”

Jaune and Oz watched him leave before the professor spoke up once more.

“Is it so much to ask that you don’t try and match the leading expert on that skill on your second day of knowing it existed?” he asked.

“Sorry?” Jaune replied.

“In fact, while we are on the subject of your interactions with headmasters and military generals... What happened to the polite student that spoke with him last time?”

“I guess I’ve just realized that even though you guys are leaders, you’re still people. I’m a leader, but that doesn’t mean all that much. You’ve got a twisted sense of humor that involves launching people off cliffs. The general seems to enjoy challenging people to see what they’re made of. And I’m stubborn to the point where I’ll try to rise to both provocations.”

“I...” the professor was somewhat stunned by the way Jaune had boiled down his personality to that of a sadist. “I’m not that bad.”

“What were you planning for training then?”

**/-/**

_‘Not that bad’ he says. ‘Nothing so terrible’ he says. How is throwing live dust crystals at me ‘not that bad’._

Jaune’s first item of training had lasted until his aura ran low. Which is to say, it didn’t last very long at all.

The goal was to detect aura in smaller quantities, raising his precision and accuracy. To do this, Oz was tossing dust crystals at Jaune, activating only some of them. Jaune had to dodge only the active ones and catch the inactive ones. The high speed Oz threw them at left him very little time to decide. Every time he dodged when he wasn't supposed to he was punished. Every time he didn't dodge when he was supposed to he exploded.

At least the professor had been kind enough to not use burn dust.

Now, however, the professor saw fit to take him to task with some sparring.

“It’s probably a bit late all things considered, but it’s time to learn how you fight. All I’ve given you are tools that anyone can use regardless of style.” The professor said in between a series of thrusts.

Jaune was fighting at his base level since he lacked the aura to enhance himself. The professor in return was taking it easy on him, but it was still a level slightly above his own.

“Sword and board, what more is there to learn.” Jaune managed to reply.

“Hmm, indeed, though I was referring to the specifics. You have a focus on strong defensive and offensive counters. At least, compared to skill or dexterity based techniques. Just for example.”

Jaune parried a thrust with his sword and returned with a shield bash.

“Ah good, you know to use your shield offensively as well. You’d be surprised how many students make it to their higher years before learning that lesson.”

“You don’t last long as Pyrrha Nikos’ partner without learning a few things.” Said Jaune as he stepped into the professor’s space trying to trip and push him over.

“So it would seem. Decent use of positioning and footwork, though a touch unrefined. Quite brutish all things considered. Where is the strategy though?”

The professor backed off, giving Jaune the chance to recover and regain his stance.

“What do you mean? You’re way out of my league, I’m just trying to reduce the damage I take at this point.” Jaune replied.

“Nonsense, you should always look for a win condition. Ms. Goodwitch’s reports on your spars almost always told a different tale. Each of them made mention of some trick or gamble that you made in your fights. Were those opponents not out of your league?”

Jaune mentally shrugged and resolved to at least try. Not much point going for a disarm against a stronger opponent. Especially when the professor was likely better unarmed than he was armed.

They weren’t sparring in a sand-covered pit either, so there wouldn’t be any great opportunities to try and blind him. The professor’s weapon wasn’t made of wood and unlike Jaune he still had aura, so destroying his weapon was out. Jaune was starting to run out of ideas.

He leaped back into the fight trying to look for weaknesses or blind spots. The professor was exclusively using thrusts, and light ones focused on speed at that. A counter would be near impossible and barely worth it. It would have to be an exchange. One that leveraged the much more dangerous edge of his sword against the blunt tip of the professor’s cane.

Jaune pushed into the professor and shoved him with his shield. The action created a small space between them. In the short time he had before reengaging he removed his shield and held his blade with both hands.

Frankly, Jaune thought that this was a losing plan. The professor had speed, strength, and even reach on him. He and several of the other professors were ludicrously tall after all. Still, he had been asked to show what he could do, and this was something he had put to great use time and time again.

Jaune redirected the thrusts to his side with small redirects. He intentionally tried to leave his shield arm looking stray and open for targeting. Hopefully, it would be believable. Normally had a shield there to cover that ‘weakness’. Whether by fooling the professor or by having him play along, a thrust came at his left shoulder. Jaune tried his best to time his counter swing so that it would occur just after the professors. The professor's strike would add momentum to his own as it struck his left shoulder.

It wasn’t meant to be though. The professor’s strike landed, and then in a green blur, the professor’s upper body repositioned out of range.

“Semblances are bullshit and that wasn’t fair,” Jaune complained as the professor laughed.

“They can be, you better get used to that though. Still, as a reward for a good attempt, I know what I can teach you. You’ve got a decent grasp on the basics, you’re not at a professional level like me-” Jaune grumbled. “But you have more than enough to add some more advanced strikes to your repertoire.”

“What do you mean more advanced? How much more advanced can swinging a sword get? It’s not like aura which can actually do different things.”

The professor gestured clearly that the spar was over and for Jaune to take his stance in front of him.

“Perhaps advanced wasn’t the right way of putting it.” The professor mirrored Jaune’s stance. “How many ways can you strike me from our exact position? Don’t worry about whether it will land or not, just demonstrate the strikes.”

Jaune shrugged and went through all of the basic form strikes. A strike from directly overhead, cutting him down the center. Two diagonal strikes from either side which divided him from collar bone to hip. These strikes were then repeated but in reverse, rising from hip to collar bone. Two horizontal strikes crossed the professor’s abdomen. Finally, a thrust was delivered to his sternum. A total of eight unique strikes.

“Is that all?” the professor asked, receiving a nod in response.

“Technically I guess you could do in between angles, but those are the 8 major ones. Going from collar bone to groin is almost the same as head to groin but you miss an important vital spot. These eight all cut through important areas of the body, that’s why you learn them.” Jaune explained.

“And there lies the problem. All of your strikes are aimed at vital spots, the places where we are trained from day one to protect. Our body and our head are top priorities for defense, even with aura because we can feel the impact and it slows us down. Without aura, it’s as you say, a strike to that location is lethal.”

Jaune nodded in agreement, but he was still unsure exactly where the professor was going.

“Tell me, which situation would you prefer to be in. One where I’ve slashed your chest, or one where I’ve slashed your wrist? For the sake of it, let’s assume you’ve no aura.”

_If it’s just a slash, I guess I could survive both. Depending on the depth. Oh!_

“I’d prefer the chest then. If the cut is deep enough to kill then I’d lose a hand and be unable to defend myself. If it’s not deep enough to kill, I’d still lose the use of my hand because of the injury to the tendons.”

“Precisely. The same goes for aura to an extent, but with a different train of thought. Which would you prefer? To land a clean hit on their wrist for a fraction of their aura eighty percent of the time? Or a hit on their chest for eighty percent of their aura a fraction of the time? The answer is, at least most of the time, that it’s better to chip away their defenses. You focus too much on landing ‘perfect’ strikes when you could be chipping away their aura instead. For a fighter like yourself especially. You can defend with your shield while landing small strikes over time. In a fight of endurance, you should always come out on top against an equal.”

“It makes sense, but doesn’t that make my job of looking for openings much harder? I have to be looking everywhere all at once.”

“Which is why I said it’s advanced.” Jaune nodded with more understanding than before. “I’ll teach you one ‘technique’ each time we train and drill you with a multitude of ways to use it. That should be the easiest way for you to learn without being overloaded.”

The professor ran with the example of striking a wrist that held a weapon. For the next few hours put Jaune through dozens of drills that reflected real-life examples.

Jaune learned to try to parry the target’s wrist instead of their weapon if he had the reach advantage. If their weapon had no guard, he was to slide down the shaft or blade of the weapon to attack the hands that way. Jaune learned strong cross parries with follow up slashes. Even disarms which dis-arm-ed them were drilled. There were so many ways to use those eight basic strikes against a limb compared to a torso or head.

With his mind and body sufficiently exhausted, their training finally concluded.

Jaune headed off to get ready for what might be the most important event of his life. Even more so than initiation.

A dance with Pyrrha.

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 11**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 22 (55) [+3]**

**Fortitude: 25 (62)**

**Dexterity: 16 (40) [+3]**

**Aura: 30/30**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **???**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.

 **[Aura Control: Level 5]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 25%   
All Aura abilities are 50% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 4]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 14(21) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 4]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 14(21) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(225)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 4]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura. Additionally, within the same radius, you can observe aura in all creatures that have it.  
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 100(150) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter when using aura.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 4]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 14(21) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.9xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 7]**   
Aura Recovery Rate +170% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 8] (Passive)  
** Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 9] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 90%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 9%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 45%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 7] (Passive)  
** Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 70%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 35%

 **[Hand to Hand Skill: Level 4] (Passive)  
** Increase damage with all unarmed attacks by 20%  
Increase hit rate with all unarmed attacks by 4%  
Increase unarmed defense efficiency by 20%

 **[Willpower: Level 1]  
** Force your will onto others through your aura.  
Can simulate emotion or even cause a variety of mental conditions in the target.  
Use of this skill is also the defense against this skill.

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de** **grâce** **!]  
** A finishing blow to an injured opponent.  
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.  
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.  
Cooldown 3 seconds.  
Recharge 60 seconds.


	31. The Dance I

Jaune was pacing.

He didn’t normally pace.

Normally, Jaune trained. What point was there in worrying when you could be preparing. His nerves were calmed by the knowledge that he had set himself up as best he could.

This is probably why he was pacing.

There was no way for him to train for this. No amount of training would prepare him even if he could. Not for what he wanted to do tonight.

It wasn’t just the dance, Jaune had danced before, in fact, he was quite good at it. It wasn’t even the person he was dancing with or the fact it was an official date. They had been on those.

It was because Jaune wanted to tell her how he felt and use tonight to make things official. That and the fact that he had only realized he wanted to do this fifteen minutes before he was due to pick her up.

Not once had the thought crossed his mind that tonight was the night as he trained. But sitting around watching the minutes tick by, waiting for his time to collect his date for the evening? That had gotten him thinking.

When would he get a chance like this next? Certainly not while they’re on a mission, that’s a death flag in basically every movie he had ever watched. Not during the tournament, when he was supposed to be focusing on keeping a promise. Would he wait until the following year? No.

But how was he supposed to put what he felt into words?

Pyrrha Nikos; kind to a fault, beautiful, dangerous and so much more. He’d considered rushing out to buy a guitar and serenading her. But if he’d learned anything from wearing his favorite hoodie, it was that girls didn’t agree with his idea of cool. That and he never actually learned to play.

Jaune anxiously checked his scroll once more. His foot tapped to expend the energy that built up as he paused his pacing. Ten minutes to go.

Jaune double-checked his outfit for what must have been the 100th time. It was the same outfit he had worn on their last date and the only formal attire he had other than his school uniform. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be seen as lazy to wear it twice, though most huntsmen wear the same thing every day anyway.

Jaune carefully brushed away the tiniest specks of dust that had accumulated. Once again convincing himself that the outfit was fine. He checked his scroll once more; 9 minutes to go.

Unable to handle the waiting, Jaune decided he would make his way over now. There was nothing wrong with being early, right?

Knocking on what is normally his dorm room door, he heard some shuffling from inside.

“Coming!” Nora cheerily called from the other side before she threw the door open.

She was wearing an outfit that wasn’t so different from her usual one. It still had the pink frilly skirt and a heart motif remained as the top her dress formed one. New to her outfit however was in a pair of white heels that brought her a little closer to Jaune’s height. Her hair seemed somehow fluffier than usual too.

“Hey Nora, you look great in that dress. I’m sure Ren is going to love it.” Said Jaune.

“We’re not-”

“Yeah, alright alright.” Jaune interrupted. “I’m sure he’ll like it anyway.”

_Maybe if they’re lucky, tonight will mean something more for them as well._

“Is Pyrrha ready?” he asked.

“I am,” Pyrrha replied, stepping into view from further in the room.

Her trademark tiara and the chains that fell around her ears were the only traces of the gold she usually wore. Instead, she had gone all-in on a red that perfectly matched her hair.

The dress started at her neck and flowed down to just above her ankles. It hugged her form in a way that showed off the curves formed between her chest, waist, and hips.

Seeing Jaune stare, she smiled and gave him a small twirl. From where the dress wrapped around her neck down to her lower back was completely bare. Additionally, the dress was split from the middle of her right thigh. In combination, the small spin showed off much of her flawless porcelain white skin.

“How do I look?” she asked.

“Wow,” Jaune replied.

Judging by the smirk, she was more than happy with that response. His lack of words speaking more than any prepared compliment would.

“Renny!” Nora suddenly shouted, pushing Jaune out of the way as she ran and tackled her partner.

He wore a simple outfit, but not an unflattering one. Green vest, white slacks, and a charcoal button-up with a tie the same shade of pink as Nora’s dress. It was then that Jaune realized that Nora’s off-shoulder sleeves were the same shade of charcoal as Ren’s shirt.

It seemed they’d coordinated if only a little. Chances were it wasn’t even intentional either. The two were always so in sync with each other. They could very well have picked these clothes without trying to match.

“Should we get going?” Jaune asked, turning to his partner and offering her a hand.

She readily took it and wrapped her arms around his.

“Let’s.” She replied.

With Nora and Ren leading the way several paces ahead, the four headed off to the dance. Nora hung off Ren much more aggressively than the way Pyrrha held onto him. She dragged him along with enough force to almost lift his feet from the ground. It was an entertaining sight that had both Jaune and Pyrrha stifling laughter.

As they entered the dance hall, they were treated to quite the sight. Jaune had heard Yang boasting that she had been chosen to take over from Coco for the role this year. He hadn't realized that she and Weiss had worked so hard to get so much done. The ceiling was almost entirely hidden by pink and cyan balloons and ribbons. The walls were lined with perfectly set white tables and chairs with white roses at each. It was clear that Weiss and Yang’s personal choices on how things should look didn’t align. Despite that, it managed to come together brilliantly.

“Glad you guys could make it! What do you think?” Yang asked, greeting them as they entered.

“It looks lovely,” Pyrrha responded.

“Yeah, you guys did a good job,” Jaune added.

“Jobs not done yet though, not until I know everyone has had a good night.” Said Yang.

Jaune was impressed by her dedication to the role until Pyrrha replied.

“Is this about Blake or Weiss?” she asked.

“Both, and Ruby for that matter. Look at her standing behind the punch bowl.” She gestured toward her sister hiding behind a glass of the drink near the back of the room. “It’s the school dance, she should be making the most of it, but all she wants to do is complain about the shoes... Or get into that cloak. If either of you catch her wearing it tonight you’ll tell me, right? She is banned.”

“What’s this about Blake or Weiss?” Jaune asked, ignoring the complaints about Yang’s sister which were harmless issues.

“Oh, I suppose you wouldn’t know since you’ve been training out in the forest the last few days,” Pyrrha responded. “Sun asked Blake out after all the spars from the other day but she turned him down claiming she had no time for it.”

“I tried my best to talk some sense into her the other day, and I’m pretty hopeful she’ll see what we are getting at... But then yesterday afternoon Weiss is suddenly saying the same thing. ‘Too busy to worry about boys’. She’s been fussing over the decorations nonstop. Like someone might die if the arrangement isn’t perfect.” Yang explained.

“She didn’t come here with Neptune then? I thought they got on pretty well. He seemed to spend as much time with her as Sun did Blake.” Jaune asked.

“No she didn’t and you’re so right too. I suggested the same thing and she got all touchy about it. 'The flowers aren’t arranged properly', 'the doilies are the wrong shade of white'. I just wanted tonight to be a night off for them all.” Yang dejectedly admitted.

“And for you, right?” Jaune asked. Here she was greeting guests instead of getting out there and dancing. Yet all she had done was talk about the others.

“Right...” Yang unconvincingly replied.

“You deserve some time off too you know.”

“I know.” She instantly replied. “But... If I don’t look after them, no one will. I couldn’t go out there and just dance while Weiss is feeling miserable. If Blake doesn’t turn up I don’t even know if I’d want to.”

For the girl who stood closest to Pyrrha in terms of strength, it was upsetting to see her look so defeated. He couldn’t bear to imagine that expression on his partner’s face. It was his kneejerk reaction to this which forced Jaune’s hand.

“Let me handle it then. You can take a song or two and dance with Pyrrha... uhh if you don’t mind Pyrrha? I know tonight-”

“It’s fine, Jaune.” Pyrrha interrupted. “I know what you’re like. As long as you promise it’s only a few songs, you can try to help everyone out like you always do. Besides, I’d never turn down a chance to go a few rounds with Yang.”

Yang looked between the pair before letting loose a small laugh. Jaune could almost see the tension fade from her shoulders, if only barely.

“I suppose if anyone could make it happen it would be you lover-boy. I think I’ll take you up on the offer and ‘go a few rounds’ with the champ.” She said with a smirk. “Better be careful though, maybe she’ll think I’m the better dancer. She already knows I’m the better fighter and the cuter blonde.”

Jaune snorted.

Yang leaned in and whispered something to Pyrrha which brought a small blush to her cheeks and a spark of... something to her eyes.

“You guys have a good evening. I’ll swing around some time and steal her from you.” Yang said, ushering them inside and away from her station.

Jaune led Pyrrha inside. Seeing that the crowd was already dancing a casual waltz with the music, he decided that now was as good a time as any.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked, unlinking arms with her and offering his left hand.

“I believe that is what we came here for.” She wittily responded, placing her hand in his and stepping closer to rest her hand upon his shoulder.

Jaune too closed the distance between them. He placed his free hand upon her left shoulder blade.

Jaune allowed a few seconds to let Pyrrha ready herself and to adjust to the newfound closeness. When it was clear she was ready, Jaune took the lead and began to dance.

Pyrrha was a trained huntress. One with famous dexterity. So her ability to react to his lead was, of course, flawless. But as they both soon realized, it wasn’t just reaction. They each seemed to know exactly what they were doing.

“I should’ve known you would be a good dancer. Probably had training for some kind of event, right?” Jaune asked.

“Got it in one. I’ve been to my fair share of formal events and of course, that means dancing. What’s unexpected is that you’re as good a dancer as you are.” She replied.

Jaune took her words as the perfect opportunity to show off a little. With a back step, he led her into an underarm turn which she seamlessly incorporated.

“You pick up these sorts of things with seven sisters.”

“Seven?! Why’d you decide to wait so long to drop that bombshell?” Pyrrha blurted out.

“Probably all the repressed trauma. I might be good at dancing, cooking, sewing, and cleaning... But I’m sadly also good at makeup, braiding hair, and wearing dresses. All because they made me do each of those things much more than once.”

Pyrrha missed a step in their dance for the first time as her jaw dropped slightly.

“I would kill to see you in a dress Jaune.” She said, falling back in time effortlessly.

“You might have to. It’d take a hell of a lot to get me into a dress, even for a good reason.”

“You wouldn’t even do it for me?” she said with a coquettish expression.

Jaune looked her right in the eyes ready to say ‘not even for you’. Instead, something altogether different came out.

“Maybe for you. I don’t think there’s a lot I wouldn’t do for you if you asked.”

“Oh.” She replied as her eyes widened.

For a while, all the heard was the sound of the music as they danced together in silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but one born of two people who were happy to enjoy each other’s company.

Still, the silence was broken as Jaune spoke out once more.

“You know, if you don’t want to dance with Yang, you don’t have to. I kind of threw you under the bus with that.”

Pyrrha shook her head.

“It’s fine. In truth, I think I might enjoy dancing with her tonight. Even if I don’t though, I’d prefer to let you try and help the others. If you didn’t, your mind would be thinking about them... When I’d prefer to have you to myself as much as I can.”

It was Jaune’s turn to be stunned by the bold proclamation of his partner. He was stunned enough that when she switched from following to leading, he fell in line. It wasn’t until she brought him into a spin that he realized what she had done.

“Hey!”

“Oh god, I can imagine it now.” She said through muted laughter. No doubt she was imagining him in a dress being taught both male and female parts of the dance.

Jaune fought back for control. Using the extra steps from a second spin she had led him into to pull her back into his lead.

Jaune and Pyrrha’s waltz evolved into a battle of role reversals and switches. Their combined efforts turned several heads. It took the ending of their current song to conclude their battle. Pyrrha sighed contentedly and allowed Jaune to finish the song as the lead.

“I’m going to count that as my first victory over the undefeatable Pyrrha Nikos.” Jaune crowed.

“I suppose I shall allow it. You did exceed my expectations after all. You have a habit of doing that.” Pyrrha replied, taking the wind out of his sails by responding with earnest praise.

“Yes, well... You’re quite impressive on your feet too. So don’t feel too bad.” Said Jaune, earning a small chuckle.

Pyrrha suddenly gestured over Jaune’s shoulder with a flick of her head. When they spun around Jaune saw that Blake had made her way here tonight, and with Sun in arm no less.

“Well, that’s a good sign,” Jaune said. “One out of three and I didn’t even have to do anything.”

Looking around the room, Jaune scanned to see how things were going since they had begun dancing. It had only been 10 or so minutes, enough to get a few songs in. It was enough time for any of the girls he hoped to check up on to have moved on, to have moved at all. But Ruby still hid behind the punch bowl sipping at her cup every few minutes. Weiss too endlessly fussed over a single drooping white rose. Trying her best to stare it into submission and make it stand straight like the others.

For an instant, her gaze lifted as she looked in Blake’s direction. A hint of a smile graced her face, before disappearing in a frown.

Looking back, Jaune thought he could see the reason why. Accompanying her teammate and her blonde date was his blue-haired teammate.

Jaune couldn’t know for sure, but everything he had seen and heard indicated something going on.

“You’re thinking about the others now, aren’t you?” Pyrrha asked.

Jaune turned his attention back to the beautiful girl he was dancing with. He reminded himself that she deserved better than a distracted date.

“I was, sorry. I think Yang was right, there’s definitely something going on with Weiss and Neptune. She keeps stealing looks his way. I didn’t pick Weiss as the type of girl to sit on the sidelines and watch without trying to make things work either. It’s weird.”

Pyrrha let herself fall away from Jaune’s hold.

“You should do what you can early rather than later. It’s not nice to make a lady wait.” Pyrrha said, with a small curtsy.

Jaune didn’t miss the double meaning. The longer he waited to try and fix things with the others, the less time they’d have to enjoy tonight. The same goes for Pyrrha and his distractedness.

He nodded. “I promise I won’t take long, and I’ll make it up to you.”

The situation with Weiss was delicate, and he wasn’t particularly close with her either. So Jaune headed off to tackle what he hoped was an easier situation.

Sliding up behind the punchbowl, Jaune poured himself a drink.

“Is there a reason you’re hiding behind the punchbowl?” he bluntly asked.

Ruby didn’t even look in his direction and without missing a beat she replied, “Yep.”

“Is it because you’re as socially awkward as I am?” he asked.

That got her attention. She shot him a look that was equal parts disbelief and equal parts annoyance.

“It’s true you know. I’m feeling pretty out of my depth tonight.” Jaune added.

“You? After tearing it up out there? You must have been to like a hundred of these. Not to mention you got a date with my sister after one afternoon of knowing her and now you’re with Pyrrha. If you’re socially awkward, I’m doomed.” Ruby complained.

“I might be good at dancing, but that doesn’t change anything. Did you know before meeting you and Yang, I hadn’t had what you could call a friend in years?” Ruby shook her head. “Back at home, I was pretty much the black sheep of the village.”

“What changed? You don’t act like the type of person who struggles with... this.” Ruby asked.

“Well, that’s sort of it. I am acting. Or I was at least. I put on this mask of confidence and tried to be the type of person I thought people would like. It’s only the last few months that I realized, that it’s okay to be me. You guys helped me become who I am.”

Ruby sipped from her drink.

“In fact, I was hoping you could help me some more,” Jaune said, trying a new angle.

Ruby hummed, prompting him to explain.

“Pyrrha and I won’t be dancing for a few songs, but I still feel like I’ve got some more in me. So would you be my partner for a while?”

“Yeah, not a good idea. I’ve got these stupid lady-stilts on and I can barely walk. If I dance with you, you’re going to end up with holes in your toes.” Ruby dismissed the idea instantly.

“I don’t mind.” He said, and Ruby looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “I don’t. You’d be doing me a favor if you would. Just one song. Please?”

“I... You... ugh. You can’t pick someone else?” Ruby asked. One more push was all she needed, Jaune could feel it.

“I could...” he said, letting her breathe a sigh of relief. “But I want it to be you.”

Ruby’s impression of a statue was quite amusing, but he didn’t dare laugh. Not as the pink crept up her neck. She might be younger than the others, but she was still a huntress. She was still a girl. And that was still a bold declaration.

“You’re not giving me much of a choice.” Jaune offered her his hand which she reluctantly took. “Don’t blame me if you get hurt and can’t dance with your partner after this.”

Jaune took Ruby out onto the floor and slowly guided her into the correct position. Unlike Pyrrha, she was unsteady on her feet. A result of the heels she was unused to wearing. Also unlike his partner, Ruby lacked the understanding of what was normal in dancing.

“Place your hand on my shoulder.” He advised.

When she did, he placed his hand on her back, earning a small squeak from the girl. Jaune didn't want to make her uncomfortable. He brought his hand back and instead placed it closer to her shoulder. allowing her to create more distance between them.

“One, two, three.” He counted in time to the song that played.

After repeating a few times he began to move. To her credit, she did quite well to move with him. Her natural talent in fighting served to aid her in moving with another. Unfortunately, in those heels, she stumbled after the second step. Scrambling to correct herself, she tried to bring her legs back into position. In doing so, she stomped on his foot and crossed her legs. If Jaune hadn't have caught her, she would have fallen.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I knew this wasn’t a good idea, let’s just-”

“Ruby, it’s fine. Are you ready to try again?” he interrupted.

When she meekly nodded and looked down at her feet he stopped her. He released her hand and gently grabbed her chin, turning her head up and to her right.

“It’s tempting for beginners to stare at their feet, or for partners to stare into each other’s eyes. But in doing so, you will unintentionally enter your partner's space. If you look out this window between us-” he gestured to the open space between their hands. “-then it’s harder to get under each other’s feet.”

With another count, he led into the simple three-step movement.

Ruby still stumbled over her own feet at times. The change in how she held her head and upper body had done its job though. Not once more did she step on him.

Jaune gave words of encouragement to let her know she was doing well. As her confidence grew, so too did a smile soon grow upon her face. Less hesitation in her steps meant fewer mistakes. Soon she was able to keep up with Jaune with only the slightest of stumbles.

With Ruby finally beginning to get into the swing of things, Jaune had the leisure of looking around. It seemed that Blake’s first dance had been given to Yang, as they had paired off nearby. Sun remained with Neptune off to the side. They mingled with their team and some of the other students from Mistral. Ren and Nora were still together. They Danced in a unique mash-up of standard and completely random dance moves. Even General Ironwood could be seen dancing with Ms. Goodwitch.

Looking back to his current partner, Jaune could see that Ruby had gotten comfortable. He decided it was time to take things up a notch for her.

“Ready for a spin?” he asked.

“Jaune no-”

Jaune did not wait before leading her into one anyway. Her timing was off and she missed several beats as she brought herself back into his hold. It mattered not though, even if it had been off time, she had pulled it off. The look of satisfaction on her face when she realized she had done it made it worth the risk.

“You suck.” Ruby chided.

“You can’t deny that you’re having fun though,” Jaune replied.

Ruby hummed, sending vibrations into Jaune’s hand through her back.

“This is fun. But I think that’s because you’re making sure that I’m having fun.”

The song was beginning to slow to an end.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jaune lied.

“I think you do. If I asked, would you dance with me again tonight?”

Jaune separated and gave Ruby a small bow, earning a delicate giggle.

“I’m sure I could put aside time for another dance if you asked. But only if you promise to stop hiding behind that bowl and enjoy yourself some more.”

She sighed but nodded. When she turned around and walked away, it wasn’t back to that table and she didn’t stumble as she had at first.

Jaune too left the floor, though he didn’t follow her. Sun had partnered up with Blake, ready for the next dance to begin. Yang had collected Pyrrha for the same reason.

Jaune knew he probably only had a few minutes left to try and talk to Neptune. He didn’t want to leave Pyrrha for much longer than he had, even if he had the next few hours to spend with her. He also didn’t want to waste the opportunity that Sun’s absence had left.

So he immediately approached.

“Hey man. Cool dance huh?” said Jaune as he greeted Neptune with a slap on the back.

“Cool? I mean, I guess. Ballroom dancing is a little lame though, don’t you think? They should play some real music, right?” Neptune responded. “Cute girls though, huh?”

“Yeah, there are some cuties, for sure. I noticed you didn’t bring anyone, what’s up with that? I thought you’d bag a date for this easily.” Jaune said, setting himself up as naturally as he could. Neptune had practically done his work for him.

“Not all of us are lucky enough to be partners with a pair of honeys like you and Ren. I’m stuck here hanging out with my bros.” Neptune said.

“Come on, a guy like you? You’re like, the coolest.” Jaune said. It wasn’t a lie, not exactly, Neptune was cool. But it wasn’t an accurate representation of what Jaune was thinking about him as a result of this situation.

“Thanks, I try pretty hard. My weapon is even called the Tri-Hard, Sun helped me name it.”

Jaune decided not to point out that it probably didn’t mean what he thought that meant.

“That’s why it’s weird you couldn’t get a date. Didn’t you think about asking Weiss or something?” Jaune asked.

Neptune visibly winced.

“It uhh, it wouldn’t have worked out. You know?”

“I get it. She can be pretty cold sometimes. I can get why you wouldn’t want to go with her.” Said Jaune.

It wasn’t his place to lecture the guy, and his own experiences with Weiss had been less than stellar. If it wasn’t something he was interested in, he shouldn’t be forced into it for her sake.

“I didn’t say that...” Neptune mumbled.

“What?” Jaune asked.

“I didn’t say that I didn’t want to go with her, it’s just...” Neptune trailed off.

“Just what? Please tell me you’re not going to say something stupid like you’re too cool for her or you don’t like commitment. It’s just a dance, man.”

“No, not that!” Neptune immediately responded.

“Then did she turn you down?” he shook his head. “You flaked and couldn’t ask her in time?”

“I can’t dance man!” Neptune finally admitted.

“That’s it? You can’t dance? You’d rather come to a dance alone and break a girl’s heart instead of just admitting you don’t know the steps?”

“That about sums it up, yeah.”

“If you knew how, would you have asked her? You like her right?”

“I mean, yeah? I don’t know her too well, but if I could dance I’d try.”

Jaune nodded his head.

“Okay then. Come with me.” Jaune said, grabbing Neptune by the wrist and dragging him away. Jaune spotted a balcony upstairs which provided some distance from the main crowd.

“It’s three steps. You fight monsters. This will be a cakewalk.” Jaune said. He was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince Neptune.

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m going to teach you to dance, and you’re going to ask Weiss out. Then Yang will stop worrying about her team and enjoy herself, and I can stop worrying about the lot of them and...” Jaune paused before saying ‘ask my partner to be my girlfriend’. "Enjoy the rest of my night.”

Jaune grabbed Neptune’s right hand and placed it on his back. He was already regretting this and he prayed no one was going to look in this direction for the next few minutes.

“Your hand goes here. If she doesn’t like it, put it on her shoulder instead.” Jaune grabbed his left hand and held it up into position. “Your other hand goes like this.”

“Uhhh.”

“Shut up! Don’t make this weirder than it already is. Step forward with your left.” Jaune ordered.

It took Neptune a few seconds to realize that it was his job to take the lead. He stepped forward slightly with his left.

“Bring the right foot forward and to the right.” Neptune did so. “Now bring your left foot to your right foot.”

Jaune then took him through the same steps mirrored to end the sequence.

“That’s it, you don’t have to do anything more than that. If you think that’s too simple, you can try to slowly spin while you do it. That’s seriously all it takes. Weiss is probably a pro at this, she’ll cover for you. So go and ask her already, I promise you’ll make her night.”

“What if it’s not good enough? You said she’s a pro.” Neptune asked.

“Then forget dancing. Just talk to her. Anything has to be better than standing around without a date. You guys could sit together and just get to know each other. I’m sure she’d love that too.”

Neptune thought for a moment.

“Yeah.” He finally said. “Okay. Thanks.”

Finally realizing he still had Jaune in his hold he pushed him away and looked over his shoulder. Apparently, he didn’t see anything too worrisome because he turned back with a sigh of relief.

“You’re a cool guy, Jaune,” Neptune said as he bumped fists with Jaune.

Jaune merely rolled his eyes and accepted the compliment.

When Neptune left, Jaune turned and looked over the balcony. He wanted to take a few moments to ready himself for what came next.

Night had fully set in and the stars were shining brightly alongside the shattered moon. There was a cold breeze that made him thankful for the extra layers he wore. It would be a cold fall and an even colder winter if this is what it was like already. He was beginning to miss the warmth inside where everyone was packed like sardines.

The sound of heeled footsteps behind him alerted him to someone’s approach. He didn’t have to wait long to learn who it was.

“It’s a beautiful night tonight isn’t it?” the familiar voice of his partner asked.

Jaune turned to face her. It had only been a few minutes apart, but he had forgotten just how attractive she was. The stars were nice, but Jaune thought that Pyrrha was far more beautiful.

Pyrrha blushed and cleared her throat.

“You don’t need to flatter me, Jaune. I know the kind of person you are. It would have been cruel of me to expect you to not try and help your friends.” She said.

_Did I say that out loud?_

“Yes, you did.” She laughed. “That too.”

Jaune nervously laughed. “Just because I didn’t mean to say it, doesn’t make it any less true. And for what it’s worth, I wasn’t trying to just flatter you...”

Pyrrha stepped up and looked over the balcony as well. Staring up at the stars and across the maintained gardens below.

“Mhm. I believe you. You don’t tend to say something just because you think you should. You’re honest to a fault sometimes. It comes through in your sparring too, like you don’t understand what a feint is. You’re always trying to go around or through a problem with speed, power, and planning. That’s the kind of person you are I suppose.” She explained.

Jaune turned back around to stargaze with her.

“I’ve been trying to grasp a similar concept lately. The idea that someone’s personality reflects their fighting style. I guess I didn’t think it could go both ways. What does that mean for you though? Your style is to be so good at everything that you can take someone on without strategy. You beat them at their own game. If I didn’t know you personally, my first instinct would be to call that arrogance.”

“But you do know me, so why don’t you try and have a guess?” Pyrrha prompted.

“Hmmm. We both know you have a competitive streak. You love to gamble. But this isn’t that. To me, it feels more like you want your opponents to have a better chance. If winning was your top priority why not go for their weaknesses. More importantly, why would you train your competition? Helping me become stronger only makes it more likely for you to lose.” Jaune turned to look at her and found her watching him as he spoke. “I think you might be sick of winning. Or at least, you’re sick of being the only winner.”

A small half-hearted smile graced Pyrrha’s face.

“That’s about it. It can be lonely at the top.” She said.

Faintly, Jaune could hear a new song play from inside. Not a song for dancing the waltz, but a slower, more easy listening tune. The DJ that Yang had called in was damn good at his job. The lyrics set a romantic atmosphere over everyone who could hear it.

Slowly at first, Jaune placed his hands on her hips. When she didn't fight the action, he turned her to face him with more confidence. In response, she draped her hands over his shoulders and began to follow as he swayed side to side.

“You don’t have to be alone.” Jaune finally said. “I might not be strong enough to join you at the top right now... But if you’d have me, I’d welcome you down here with the rest of us mortals.”

“Jaune?” Pyrrha asked. She didn’t sound confused, rather, she sounded almost hopeful.

“You’ve been the best partner anyone could ask for. You’re an amazing teammate, a great friend. You’re kind and understanding, and...” Jaune let out a nervous breath, swallowing his nerves. “And you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. If you don’t feel the same, I’d consider myself lucky to just get to continue being your friend and partner. But I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t let you know that... I’m in love with you.”

Pyrrha looked into his eyes, searching for... something.

“Aren’t you worried about being stuck in my shadow? That everyone will think that you only made it this far because of me? That they won’t be able to see you through it all?” She asked.

“Are you kidding? Pyrrha, I don’t care about any of that. I might have the need to prove myself. I might want others to see me as something. But I’d never put that on you. Because of you, I’ve gotten to grow beyond the nobody that I used to be. I would never think that you were holding me back from being something more. Not when you’re the reason I’m anything at all. You might be the champ, but every day I spend with you, I feel like a winner.”

Pyrrha hid her face from Jaune as she placed her chin on his shoulder. The distance between them shrunk from several inches to barely a centimeter.

“Prove it. Show me this isn’t just talk. I want to believe this, truly I do. But I’ve lost friends who’ve said much the same thing before all because they changed their minds.”

Jaune knew she didn’t mean a simple promise of words. Nor did she want a physical display of affection. She had bared herself to him, given him a chance to back out and save them both from pain in the future. The only appropriate response would be to bare himself in return.

Slowly Jaune summoned his aura to coat his body. From there, he extended it so that it slowly blanketed Pyrrha in a thin layer of his soul.

General Ironwood had cut through Jaune’s resistance using direct physical contact. Hopefully, this would work the same way.

He tried to remember it all.

How she had saved him in initiation. How she had taught him to use his aura and helped him fight off both beast and man. The time they had spent together. Every date, every breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every movie night with their team.

He remembered the arguments. How she had been so willing to forgive him for how he had acted with Cardin. He remembered how understanding she had been when he had asked to give up their time tonight.

He pictured the beautiful vibrant green of her eyes. He observed how her gorgeous red hair glowed in the moonlight.

Every beating she had given him in training, and every helping hand she offered to pick him back up with.

He remembered all of it.

He loved all of it.

And he showed all of that love to her through his aura.

“Jaune... What is this?” Pyrrha asked in muted shock.

“This is me. It’s not something you can fake, or not something I can anyway. You said it yourself; I’m too honest for that sort of thing. You’re feeling what I feel every moment we’re together.”

He gently pulled her head off his shoulder and touched his forehead against her own. Emerald orbs stared deep into pools of cerulean.

“It’s not just talk. I’m in love with you Pyrrha. The only thing that would ever make me regret all of this, is if you don’t feel the same.”

Pyrrha hadn’t given him the chance to speak another word. Her lips crashed into his and she melted into his embrace. A second later, when Jaune realized what had happened, he deepened the kiss.

“Of course I feel the same!” She exclaimed after they finally broke away. “How could I not! You treat me just like everyone else. You might be thankful that I’ve helped you train, helped you grow as a warrior. But thanks to you, I’ve made friendships that will last a lifetime. I couldn’t imagine wanting to be with anyone else. Not here at this dance, or anywhere else. You see me for me, not as the idol; the invincible girl, but as Pyrrha Nikos. What I feel couldn’t be anything less than love.”

Jaune had no words that he could respond with, words wouldn’t cut it. Instead, he took her lips with his once more. His heart beat madly in his chest like drums, celebrating while he was too busy to. His aura flared, sending shivers down her back, and raising goosebumps along Pyrrha’s arms. There was nothing else in this world that he could focus on other than the softness of her touch and the taste of grapefruit punch on her lips.

“Ahem.”

The world came crashing back and Pyrrha pushed Jaune away and spun to face he who had cleared his throat.

“Professor Ozpin! I was... That is to say, we were... Jaune...” Pyrrha panicked.

Jaune watched her stumble her way through trying to excuse what they had just been caught doing. He also watched the professor sit and watch without interruption. He seemed more than happy to let her talk, despite the fact she wasn’t managing to say anything with all her words.

“Oz, cut her some slack here.” Jaune finally requested, pulling Pyrrha closer to calm her down.

“Very well Mr. Arc, Ms. Nikos. I will pretend I hadn’t seen anything. But I will give you a word of advice.”

He paused for what could only have been dramatic effect.

“Do not let Ms. Goodwitch be the one to catch you next time. She is not as forgiving as I am.”

He turned to walk down the staircase, before stopping and giving one final statement.

“Oh and congratulations. I’m sure your friends will be very happy for you both.”

And with that, he left the two alone again. Pyrrha let out a shaky breath.

“You act like that was the first time you’ve ever gotten caught doing something you shouldn’t.” Jaune laughed.

“Because it was!” She hastily replied, hitting him in the chest.

Jaune just laughed louder. He wrapped his arms around her waist, trapping her arms against his chest.

“I suppose next time we should avoid getting caught then?” said Jaune as he brought his face close to hers once more.

Despite her trepidations, she brought herself up to meet him, sharing another kiss. One which was shorter, but no less infused with their feelings.

“I love you,” Jaune confessed.

“I love you too.”


	32. The Breach I

The dance had lasted long past midnight. Hours of dancing and socializing, fueled by rounds of delicious food and drink.

It hadn’t taken one of those hours for those close to Jaune to work out what was different between him and his partner. The most intuitive of them such as were quick to spot the little signs. The way his hands rested on her hips or how hesitant they each seemed to be apart from each other.

There had been teasing of course. Comments made on how dense they both were for waiting as long as they had to get together. It seemed everyone but Jaune and Pyrrha were confident that this had been just a matter of time. Of course in hindsight, they both realized that their friends were right.

Much of the staff disappeared toward the end of the night. Without the teachers to maintain the atmosphere, it changed into something more. The crowd had thinned by half as countless pairs of students had returned to their dorms early. Jaune and Pyrrha were among the few who didn’t, neither having the desire to go quite that far in so short a time.

They spent the night just enjoying the music, slow dancing until the sun began to rise. Though the thought hadn’t crossed his mind at the time, he realized Ruby never did come back for that second dance. She had retired around the time that the professors had.

Jaune only realized this while he poured himself and Pyrrha a double-strength coffee. He spotted her at the table looking like she’d slept a full eight hours. Something literally no one else had managed.

“Here,” Jaune said as he passed Pyrrha her drink. “Where did you go last night Ruby? You never came back for that second dance.”

“Well, I didn’t want to intrude on you two hehe,” Ruby replied as she glanced at Pyrrha.

“I wouldn’t have minded.” Pyrrha politely responded.

Ruby looked nervous. Like there was something she wasn’t saying.

“Well, it doesn’t matter I suppose. You probably made the right choice going to bed when you did.” Said Jaune.

“Right, bed! I was tired after all.” Ruby very quickly added.

_Weird._

Upon thinking this, a message played over the school speakers.

“Please report to the amphitheater in 10 minutes. All students, to the amphitheater in 10 minutes.” Ms. Goodwitch’s voice stated.

Jaune looked down at his plate of food that he had barely managed to touch. He was close to regretting having spent the whole night out as he had.

“Come on then guys we better get going.” Said Jaune.

Ren, Pyrrha, Jaune, and the entirety of team RWBY all stood and prepared to leave. Nora though just sat there eating her pancakes.

“Come on Nora, we have to get going,” Ren asked.

She hastened her efforts to shovel down more. Ren just sighed and picked her up slinging her over his shoulder and carrying her with him.

**/-/**

The eight of them gathered with the rest of the students from Beacon. Each student standing in one of four separate groups based on their academy.

“Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin.” Ms. Goodwitch declared once it became clear no one else was arriving.

Oz stepped up to the microphone, ready to give another one of his speeches. Jaune listened, as was polite to do so, but he wouldn’t exactly call it captivating. It was a history lesson poorly veiled as a ceremonial speech. He covered the history of the festival, the color naming rule, and why we need to work hard. ‘Don’t forget your training.’

It was all very ordinary.

The crowd gave a polite round of applause before breaking off into teams.

“Ren, go pick whatever mission you want. I’ll trust your judgement.” Jaune said.

Ren nodded and he and Nora went off to find the exact type of mission they were looking for. He looked pleased that Jaune hadn’t forgotten his promise.

“Is it really okay to just let them choose? You’re team leader, shouldn’t you pick for us?” Pyrrha asked.

“It’s fine. I promised to let him pick. He wants to look after the outskirt villages, so it’ll probably be a search and destroy or an expedition. That’s right up our alley.” Jaune explained.

Pyrrha nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”

Jaune looked over the crowd. Team RWBY was speaking to professor Ozpin by one of the terminals. Meanwhile, the rest of the students were browsing the different options. It seemed that not every group was so certain of what they wanted.

“Can you believe that there are only two weeks until the tournament? A week for our mission and a week to prepare, then four nonstop days of action.” Pyrrha excitedly asked.

“I can believe it, but I wish I had more time,” Jaune admitted. “It just feels like everything is happening too fast.”

She brushed her hand against his, prompting him to open his hand for her to take.

“Going on a mission right after last night... What I wouldn’t give for a few days just for us.” Jaune complained.

“Our timing might not have been the greatest I suppose. But after the tournament we have weeks of holidays before next year’s classes start.” Said Pyrrha.

“If it makes you feel better Mr. Arc, you won’t be spending as much time training with me. That leaves plenty of time for you to spend time with Miss Nikos.” Professor Ozpin suddenly said from nearby.

Pyrrha jumped and practically threw Jaune’s hand away.

“Jeeze Oz, can you stop sneaking up on us like that?” Jaune asked. “And what do you mean we won’t be training as much, we barely got started.”

“I’m sorry Jaune, but that’s just the way things are. There will be a lot of paperwork from these missions, more if someone gets injured. Then I have to deal with the tournament. I’ll help you where I can, but it will be limited.” The professor explained.

Jaune grumbled for a few seconds.

“I suppose that’s just how things work when you study under the headmaster. I’ll make do somehow.” Jaune replied.

“Actually, um, I have a few of those training videos I promised you ready if you want?” Pyrrha offered.

It wasn’t a trump card that would give him the edge he needed for this tournament. But Pyrrha’s training on basic forms and eliminating wasted movement would go a long way.

Jaune handed her his scroll. “Sure, I’d appreciate that.”

“Well, now that that’s sorted, I would suggest you catch up with team RWBY. From what I understand they’ll be leaving shortly.” The professor advised. “Good luck on your mission.”

As the professor left, Jaune spoke to Pyrrha just loud enough to let Oz hear.

“You shouldn’t let him get under your skin like that Pyrrha. His sense of humor is twisted. He has a fetish for making people uncomfortable I think.”

The professor’s gait missed a single beat but he didn’t turn to comment.

“Jaune! You shouldn’t say these sorts of things.” Pyrrha scolded.

“Haha, probably not. Come on, you heard the professor. Let’s meet up with Ren and Nora and say goodbye to team RWBY before they leave.” Said Jaune.

Finding them hadn’t proved difficult. Nora’s excited voice could be picked out of even the loudest of crowds.

“What have you got for us?” asked Jaune.

“An expedition and a search and destroy in the same location. We’re allowed to do either or both while we are there. The mission is due to start at lunchtime tomorrow.” Ren explained.

A double mission had its benefits. The option to back out of one mission and attempt the other offered a degree of safety. If one of them proved too simple, then it meant they could get even better pay out of it by tackling the other objective. For Ren, money likely had nothing to do with it. Whichever mission would help the most would be his top pick, regardless of the pay.

“What rank is the expedition?” asked Pyrrha.

“D rank. Same as the one we took with team CFVY. Beowolves exclusively from the reports. The search and destroy is a Two-headed King Taijitu though and it’s in the same area.”

“We’ll try our best. There will be a huntsman with us too, so a D rank shouldn’t cause any issues.” Jaune commented. “Well, we can discuss that later. Team RWBY is leaving, we should say goodbye.”

Nora bounced on her feet. “Oooh! Come on Renny, we have to wish them luck!”

Needing no further convincing, the four of them made their way to the bullhead docks. The four girls were stood before a prepped bullhead looking somewhat deflated.

“Well alright then. Looks like we’re going to save the world with Dr. Oobleck... Okay yeah, when you say it out loud it sounds worse.” Ruby said, clearly trying to cheer up her team.

“Save the world?!” Nora cried out upon hearing her. “You’re going on world-saving missions without us? I’m hurt! And sad! Maybe a little hungry? That last one’s not my fault though... Ren!”

Ren merely looked away from the glare she shot him, pretending not to know what he did.

“Sounds like Blake has gotten you guys into some trouble again,” Jaune commented, sparking verbal protest from the Faunus. “Where are you going?”

“Just outside the kingdom,” Ruby replied.

_That doesn’t sound... World-saving?_

“Hey! So are we.” Said Nora.

“Ren and Nora wanted to help out some of the smaller villages on the outskirts. We’re shadowing a huntsman to do some extermination work.” Pyrrha explained.

Ren nodded. “We set out tomorrow.”

“Then you can party with us tonight! We’re shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff.” Neptune said before leaning in really close. “We get junior badges.”

“We’ve been in Vale for like, weeks now. This whole time, I don’t think we’ve been to the city without stuff exploding near us. This is our way to check out the kingdom when it’s... normal.” Sun added.

“Four minutes ladies!” Dr. Oobleck declared from the bullhead.

Yang, Blake, and Weiss’ shoulders drooped, while Ruby drew a sad breath.

“Well... Wish us luck?” said Ruby.

And with that, they left for their mission. Jaune hoped that the mission would be exciting enough to justify being stuck with the doctor.

The suggestion of partying with team SSSN (Sun) had gone ignored in the end. Ren was taking this coming mission too seriously and wanted to make sure he was prepared. Jaune was also taking it seriously. Even if it was only for his friends’ benefit. So collectively they said their goodbyes.

Without a teacher for the day, Jaune was stuck training the techniques he already knew. Compared to the fast pace which Oz’s training moved, training alone seemed to drag on. He had been spoiled with training that stimulated his mind and exhausted his body. Training with Pyrrha too had always been over before he knew it.

Regardless, Jaune knew that when motivation failed, it was dedication’s job to pick up the slack. Years of basic training had ingrained the ‘stuff’ he needed to switch off his brain and just work.

He spent a few hours in the gym, then several more hours practicing countless sword drills. Pyrrha’s training videos were short, a few minutes each. But they were made to be repeatable. To cement certain combinations or movements and build habits. As it was, he only wound up using a single video for the days training. Jaune ended the day with meditation and aura control activities.

Jaune’s final thoughts before he fell asleep were those of the mission to come. The day of relative simplicity left him yearning for something more.

**/-/**

Jaune woke with a start when his scroll began to blare from right next to his face.

“What time is it...” Jaune muttered as he picked up his scroll.

It was just turning a dark orange outside meaning that it was just before morning.

_What could Ruby want this early?_

“Hello?” he asked, after accepting the call.

The sound of static nearly blew his ear off. Jaune pulled the phone away from his head, just in time to see the call end.

Realizing how weird it was for Ruby to call and then just hang up, he tried to call back.

“The number you have called has been disconnected or is no longer in service.” His phone replied.

_Maybe her phone ran out of battery?_

Jaune decided to ring Weiss. They were partners so she would know what was going on with Ruby.

“The number you have called-”

_Yang then. Yang will know._

“The number-”

“Damn it. They said just outside the kingdom, their scrolls can’t all be out of range.”

“Jaune?” Pyrrha sleepily called out. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Ruby. She tried to call then suddenly cut out, now I can’t get onto any of them.” Jaune answered.

“They’re probably just in a low signal area. Maybe they went underground for a while. I’m sure she’ll ring back if it’s important.” Pyrrha looked out through the window to see the slowly rising sun. “I guess we might as well get up.”

Pyrrha slowly pulled herself out of bed with a yawn and a stretch. Jaune continued to stare at his phone, thinking about what it is Ruby could have been ringing for at this time. Even if the reason she cut out was benign, the reason for her calling might not have been.

Pyrrha pulled him from his thoughts with a kiss on the cheek.

“You’re worrying too much. I’m sure they’re fine. We have our own mission to get to and Ruby wouldn’t want to find out you were distracted because of her, right?” she asked.

“Right...” Jaune replied.

“Let’s get something to eat ready for the others. We don’t want a repeat of yesterday with Nora, do we?”

He shook his head and pulled himself out of bed. “I guess not. Maybe leave the cooking to me though. I’ve seen you grill a fish before. I don’t trust you with pancake batter.”

Pyrrha pouted, but she didn’t deny it.

Together they made their way to the cafeteria to start cooking. It was enough to occupy his mind for the most part, but Jaune kept thinking back to it. Ruby rarely rang anyone, she preferred to text when possible. Not to mention, why would she ring him?

Pyrrha was still as useless as ever in the kitchen. She had insisted on helping with something. To satisfy her. he had asked her to mix the batter while he got to work preparing some field rations for them to take along. It had taken her seconds to make a mess by lifting the electric mixer out of the mix while it was still on. She sprayed herself, Jaune, and the kitchen walls with specks of batter.

“Silly Pyrrha, leave the cooking to the boys!” Nora cheerily advised as she bounced into the kitchen with Ren.

Ren came over and offered Pyrrha a handful of paper towels that he seemed to pull out of his pockets. He must carry them around at all times, or at least all meal times for Nora’s sake.

Pyrrha dropped her head in shame, taking the towels to clean herself with, and she sat at the table with Nora.

“I’ll do breakfast, you finish what you’re doing.” Said Ren.

Jaune nodded. Ren was a master with pancakes so it suited him just fine.

“Did either of you guys get a call from team RWBY this morning?” Jaune asked.

“No.” Both Nora and Ren replied. “Why? Should we have?”

“Jaune got one from Ruby which suddenly cut off. He can’t get in contact with them and he’s been stressing about it all morning.” Pyrrha explained.

“It was probably a butt-dial,” Nora said before getting stuck into a plate of pancakes that Ren placed before her.

“I’m inclined to agree. Team RWBY has always performed exceptionally in the field. I’m certain they won’t encounter anything they can’t handle.” Ren added.

“I’ve just got this... feeling. I don’t know. Something just feels out of place. Like I’ve been overlooking something. Like something bad is going to happen if I don’t work this out.” Jaune tried to explain.

“Jaune, I know that normally your intuition is quite good. You always seem to end up where stuff is happening. But there’s nothing we can do. We don’t know where they went. It’s not like we can just go to where they are.” Pyrrha reasoned.

Jaune would have admitted that she had a very good point but a siren blared from Vale, interrupting him. Shortly after an identical one deafened them from within the school.

Blocking his ears with both hands, he rushed to the nearest window overlooking Vale. He could see smoke.

“We’re getting on a bullhead. Now.” Jaune ordered.

**/-/**

It had taken barely two minutes to reach the bullheads and no longer than five to reach the skies above Vale. Seven insignificant minutes was all the time they had spent, but it had been too long already.

The black plume of smoke multiplied and grew across central Vale. Even with the noise of the engine roaring around them, they could hear the screams from the streets below.

There were Grimm everywhere. Not just a few weak Beowolves either. Jaune could see just about every kind of Grimm he knew tearing the city apart. They gathered most densely in the center square where it had originated.

A large hole had been blown out of the ground. Within it was a large subterranean cave system from which Grimm poured. The wreckage of a train spilled out of the opening, and near it, Jaune saw his suspicions confirmed.

Team RWBY were all down there, pinned by a horde larger than any he had seen before. Ruby was cutting down Grimm by the dozen, but from out of the breach an endless wall of flesh continued to emerge. Upon second glance, Jaune realized why.

The train was carrying nightmare stones. Three of them, at least, and not small ones either.

Jaune took a deep breath to steady his racing heart. Flames had already popped up over the city and the sight of them was getting on his nerves. It was only thanks to his daily efforts in delaying the symptoms that he could manage like he was.

“Ren, sorry, but we’ve got a new mission. We have to take out these Grimm as soon as possible. In the middle of town like this, we can’t afford to let them keep spawning.” Said Jaune.

Suddenly the vehicle they were in shuddered and veered to the side. A Giant Nevermore, bigger than even the one in the initiation, had grabbed onto the bullhead. Strong enough to manhandle their entire vehicle, it pulled them toward a building.

“Everyone out, now!” Jaune ordered.

Jaune thanked all the adrenaline in his blood for dulling his motion sickness. The bullhead lurched once more, sending everyone crashing into the side. An action that would have had him emptying his breakfast under normal conditions. Team JNPR hurried to leap out of the ship, lest they go down with it.

Jaune hadn’t had the chance to perfect his landing strategy yet, even after all these months of training. In the end, he drew his shield and attempted to absorb the impact of the fall with it before rolling through. He pulled it off, but not without his fair share of pain.

Jaune would never understand how Pyrrha managed her landings. Crashing knee first into concrete with enough force to shatter the ground. Standing up afterward as if nothing had even happened. It was quite frankly, terrifying.

The Nevermore had pulled them off target slightly. As a result, they were stuck on the outside of the horde that had team RWBY pinned.

“Ren, Nora. I need you both to focus on culling as many as you can as possible. Widespread damage Nora, Ren will cover you. Pyrrha, you and I are cutting straight through to team RWBY. We need to make sure they’re safe before we can do anything else, got it?” Jaune ordered.

“Got it!” they all responded.

Nora immediately began unleashing carnage upon the Grimm with her grenades. The danger of numbers was that it limited your mobility. Even with a Semblance that makes you invincible, you can suffocate amongst all the Grimm as they pile on you. Managing horde population was the first step in any expedition.

Jaune and Pyrrha raced into a recently bombarded area. They tried to cut through the remaining Grimm that got in their way. The only problem with this is that the ones that remained were the stronger, more dangerous Grimm.

Pyrrha plunged her javelin into the chest of an Ursa before vaulting herself over it. She was struck out of the air by the tail of a King Taijitu. Fortunately, she had blocked with her shield. The damage was negated, but it put distance between her and him.

“Pyrrha!” Jaune shouted.

He tried to chase after her before a loud screech alerted him to the presence of something behind him.

Jaune rolled forwards, narrowly dodging the strike of a Deathstalker.

It was big. Bigger than the one they had fought in the cave, and not at all constrained or surprised as the last one had. Chances were, like the Nevermore from earlier, this Grimm was one of the guardians.

“You’re first huh?” Jaune said, mainly to himself.

Looking in his peripheral vision, he could see team RWBY just ten or twenty meters away. They didn’t look good. Their clothes were covered in dirt and soot. Likely from the train crash and the explosion. In places, he could see cuts and bruises on a few of them. Yang and Weiss in particular seemed to be in the worst condition. Their aura had either been broken or drained recently. If no one got to them and gave them a chance to recover, it wouldn’t end well.

With that said, he couldn’t exactly bring a guardian Deathstalker with him.

Jaune activated everything he had at his disposal. There wasn’t time to worry about being conservative.

The Deathstalker charged straight for him. Its claws striking simultaneously from either side of his body.

Jaune didn’t have time to play safe. He dodged forwards, leaping onto the head of the beast before kicking himself upwards. The Grimm tried to react to his unorthodox evasion by striking him out of the air with its stinger. Jaune was counting on that.

He spun his whole body around by bashing the offending limb with his shield. Using the rotation of his body, he activated heavy strike. Crocea Mors cleaved straight through the tail several feet down from the tip.

He was frozen in mid-air while the Grimm reeled in pain from his blow. Its thrashing gave him time to hit the floor and recover before its next move.

“Jaune!” Pyrrha called out.

Looking over his shoulder he could see the Taijitu evaporating behind her. She was heading straight for him.

Pointing with his sword Jaune shouted, “Get to Ruby!”

Jaune squared off in front of the Deathstalker, making sure he had its full attention. With the tail dealt with it only had two more weapons to work with. Three if you considered its heavily armored body a ram.

_How is to going to move next. Predict, plan, then react._

Jaune saw it rear back with its claws as the creature began to kick off with its legs.

_Two strikes this time. It’s smart enough not to try the same thing twice._

Jaune wished he’d been able to see this coming a few seconds sooner. The plan he came up with was risky, and the extra time to react would have gone a long way.

As it was, Jaune deactivated his shield and gripped his sword with both hands. It was injured, missing health no doubt. Jaune would not go around this threat. He would go through it.

“Coup de grâce!" Jaune shouted as he brought his sword straight down onto the knuckle of the Deathstalker’s left claw.

The skill took over, for the most part guiding his blade. Jaune pushed his aura augmentation beyond his max right before the moment of impact. He would risk an injury to ensure this strike went off exactly as planned.

Jaune had fulfilled all conditions for this skill to work at peak efficacy. As a result, his sword dug into the carapace of the Grimm with a sound of nails on a chalkboard. With a continued effort, Jaune dragged Crocea Mors through its dense gravelly flesh. Jaune’s arms immediately began to turn slightly pink as the burst blood vessels bruised his skin. It hurt, but it wasn't a significant injury.

Before the Grimm even registered its pain it had thrown the follow-up strike. Jaune was forced to wear it directly on his back, absorbing it entirely with his aura. He was launched directly into team RWBY.

“Don’t mind me, just dropping in.” He grunted when the cooldown wore off.

“It’s good to see you, Jaune.” Yang tiredly admitted.

Jaune pushed himself back onto his feet and stretched out the dull ache in his spine and shoulders.

“Yeah, you too. I’ll be right back though. I’ve got a job to finish.”

Jaune strode forwards, directing his aura and willpower at the beast. Even from a distance and thrashing about in fury, it noticed that. So too did several Grimm nearby and they leaped towards Jaune.

Without breaking eye contact from his mark, he cut them down before any of them could make contact. All that ki training had made sensing creatures as loud and aggressive as Grimm easy. Even when he wasn’t focusing.

Accelerating into a sprint, Jaune reentered close quarters with the Deathstalker once more. He tried his best to use his willpower to feint that he was going for a head-on collision with the Grimm. Hoping that Grimm could sense it just as well or even stronger than humans could.

Jaune held his sword out to his left. When the Grimm struck, Jaune internally cheered as his plan had once again worked as hoped. He dodged to the side that no longer had a claw, dragging his sword along the incoming claw to keep it at bay. From the dodge he sprinted past its face and along its flank, swinging his sword through its three legs.

The Deathstalker toppled onto its now limbless side while Jaune raced to its rear. Unable to turn and defend itself, it could do nothing to stop Jaune from landing strike after strike. He wouldn’t deal any injuries this way, but Grimm didn’t work like humans. As long as they took damage, they would die, regardless of how effective the final strike was.

With a final wail, its remaining legs collapsed and curled under its body and it began to turn to smoke.

Quickly checking his status when he was certain it was safe, he noted that his aura was already down below half. Taking that hit and using all his aura techniques simultaneously as he had was costly. But it was going to be worth it.

Jaune jogged back to where team RWBY and Pyrrha were holding off the Grimm. Nora’s grenades had done a good job of thinning the horde around them. Unfortunately, the nightmare stones were starting to generate their replacements.

Upon his arrival, he was finally close enough to get a hold of the situation they were in. Dr. Oobleck was unconscious. This whole time team RWBY had been fighting while protecting him. It was no wonder they didn't try and retreat.

“What happened to the professor?” Jaune asked.

“The White Fang had stolen Paladins. He held them off by himself while we tried to stop the train. I think he ran out of aura when the train crashed because he was unconscious when we found him.” Blake explained.

“Got it. Ruby, with me! I need you to clear a path underground.” Jaune ordered. “Can the rest of you hold out for a few minutes without her?”

“Why does it have to be Ruby?” Yang shouted. The concern for her sister was tangible.

“It’s fine Yang. He picked me because I’m best suited to it. Right?” Ruby said, earning a nod from Jaune.

“Reinforcements from Beacon are going to take a while to get to where we are. That Nevermore took our bullhead out of the sky and none of the other pilots have come as close since. Everybody is making their way here on foot. That means we have to do everything we can to manage the situation here. I’m certain that Deathstalker was a guardian. If we destroy its stone then we can cut the generation of Grimm by a whole third.” Jaune explained.

“What if it wasn’t? What if it was just a regular Deathstalker?” Yang shouted back.

“Then we are in even more trouble. Ruby, come on.” Jaune said as Ruby led the way to the breach.

Jaune activated his scroll’s emergency contact feature to connect with Ren.

“How are you two holding up?” Jaune yelled, making sure his voice would come through loud and clear.

A few seconds later Ren responded, “Nora’s almost chewed through all her dust already. We’ll be fine, but you guys are going to get surrounded again soon without her.”

Ruby cut a path through several Creeps and a small Boarbatusk, bringing them up to the first stone. Jaune’s sword dragged across it without leaving a mark. It wasn’t this one.

“Nora are you able to hear this?” Jaune asked.

“You bet!” she replied.

“How do you feel about some window shopping?” said Jaune as he cut down a Beowolf which had gotten between him and Ruby.

“You mean it?” Nora excitedly asked.

“I do. You and Ren get to the closest dust shop. Take everything you can carry. I mean everything. Empty your packs if you have to. Then bring it all over to us!”

“You got it O’ Fearless Leader! Let’s go Ren!” she replied.

Jaune ended the call so that they wouldn’t distract each other and he checked the next stone they passed. This time he left a small scratch on the crystalline surface.

“This is it, Ruby, hold them off for me while I crack this one!” Jaune requested.

Repeated strikes were the way to go with this task. The cooldown from the use of skills would impede how much damage he could put out per second.

Jaune focused on flowing from one diagonal slash to another, gouging a larger and deeper ‘X’ shape as he went. Finally, when his sword was up to half its length into the stone, Jaune thrust his sword into the cross up to the guard.

“Ruby, toss me a magazine!” Jaune shouted.

Without missing a beat she ejected the one she had in and replaced it with a fresh one. She kicked her old one back towards him and continued to hold back the Grimm. Even after all this time they were still charging at them from within the tunnel.

Jaune picked up the magazine and withdrew the remaining dust rounds within. He uncapped them with the edge of his blade and emptied their contents into the hole he had made.

“Explosion incoming!” Jaune warned.

He thrust his sword back into the hole, channeling his aura through the blade and into the dust. The resulting explosion tried to push his sword back out to let the energy out, but Jaune held his ground. All the force was then forced back into the stone itself. It fell apart like shattered glass.

“Done?” Ruby asked.

“Yep, let’s get out of here,” Jaune replied.

Together the two sprinted out of the tunnel, back to where they came from.

“Anything new?” Jaune immediately asked when he saw Weiss, Yang, and Blake.

“Some of the professors have made it into the square.” Blake instantly reported back.

“Nora and Ren dropped this off too,” Yang mentioned, pointing to a small rucksack.

_Perfect._

“Yang, I need your help this time. I’m going to throw that bag down there at the crystal closest to the entrance. It should be full of a lot of dust. When it’s in position, I need you to blow it up.” Yang gave an immediate nod.

“What about you Jaune, an explosion like that is going to set you off for sure,” Pyrrha mentioned.

“Good point. Yang, I still need you to light that bag up when I give the signal, but afterward, I need you to make sure I’m still with it. Don’t let me do anything stupid if I start seeing things.”

“I’ll knock you out myself if I have to,” Yang replied.

_Good._

Jaune grabbed the bag and made his way over to the breach once more. Ruby and he had thinned the numbers down there a decent amount on their way out. This made his job of pushing back in to get close enough to launch the bag a bit easier. But he still had to cut his way through several Grimm one-handed.

Jaune threw the bag as hard as he could once he got within reach. It collided with the crystal and bounced less than a foot away. Jaune immediately turned and ran as fast as he could once he confirmed it was in position.

Professor Port had once said that a stone could be destroyed even when the guardian still lived. Jaune only hoped this wasn’t one of his tall tales.

“Now!” Jaune shouted as he jumped past Yang out of the breach.

The resulting explosion picked him up before he landed, turning his jump into a small flight. Jaune hit the ground with a thud, too disoriented from the explosion to right himself mid-air. His head cracked against the pavement as he bounced away.

The dizziness and nausea that he felt numbed him to whatever pain he might have been in. He rolled to his feet a second later.

The breach had been closed, but that didn’t mean the problem had been solved. The subterranean Grimm would no doubt be able to clear the debris after a few minutes. The remaining stone will have spawned more Grimm. Not to mention the Grimm that would be making their way from further down the tunnel.

Knowing this, Jaune looked around to survey the situation, to see where he could help the most.

Many of the buildings surrounding the square they were fighting in had caught fire. A combination of damage caused by the Grimm and collateral damage caused by hunters.

_Not much point worrying about the buildings, they can be fixed._

More allies were making their way into the area from the streets in every direction. Jaune could see Ms. Goodwitch repairing structural damage with her telekinesis. Team CFVY was cutting down Grimm en masse thanks to Coco’s minigun. Even team CRDL was putting in good work, Cardin’s mace exploding Grimm left and right.

_Good for him._

He realized that Yang was yelling something at him. She looked pretty stressed, not that he blamed her. Perhaps it was the Ursa lumbering towards him that she was worried about.

Yang tackled him out of the road as the Ursa’s paws slammed onto where he had been sitting. The impact re-rattled his brain.

“What the hell were you doing you idiot! Why didn’t you move?!” Yang shouted straight into his face.

Jaune didn’t have an answer for her, not a satisfying one at least. He could barely remember what he had been thinking at the time. It was like he had been a passenger to his own body. Even the flames hadn’t bothered him, as if they were just special effects in a movie.

They bothered him now though.

Jaune pushed Yang away and scrambled to his feet.

His heart rate spiked as he frantically looked around.

The Grimm were everywhere. His friends were being overrun while he was just sitting here doing nothing.

_Got to... Got to deal with these Grimm._

Jaune raced out to strike down the closest Grimm but was pulled back. Something hard slammed into his face, before being replaced with something soft.

“Focus Jaune!” Pyrrha said as she pulled away from the kiss she had forced on him.

“Pyrrha?” Jaune asked.

“What are you seeing right now?” She asked.

“The Grimm! I need to-” Jaune tried to look away as he spoke but he was silenced and his head was pulled back to face her.

“Not before you calm down.” Pyrrha calmly explained. “Look again. You’re safe.”

Jaune’s eyes flicked to the side, desperate to confirm his suspicions. Gone was the horde of Grimm, in its place a small number of stragglers. The bisected corpse of the Guardian Nevermore was dissolving on the ground. Surrounding it was a hundred more of its kind. Team CFVY, CRDL, even team SSSN were all here, cleaning up. The damage to the buildings was being reversed by professor Goodwitch. The Atlesian flagship was flying overhead releasing Atlesian Knights. Robot soldiers which were eradicating the Grimm presence with precision gunfire.

“You’re safe,” Pyrrha repeated. There was fire dust in that pack and it set you off, that’s all. Help arrived and everything is under control.”

“Right... My bad.” Jaune responded.

Pyrrha offered him a hand, to help him to his feet. He took it and tried to hide his thoughts, stop them from showing on his face.

He had thought he’d done well. He fought Grimm that would have slaughtered him months ago. He developed plans on the fly that he thought had played a big role in their success. Then he had to go and taint his victory by zoning out and hallucinating again.

“So it’s under control here then?” he asked.

Pyrrha nodded, explaining what he was already seeing around him. He didn’t try to interrupt her though, in case he had missed something important.

“Ruby! Your team all good?” Jaune shouted out once Pyrrha had finished.

She shot him a thumbs up.

“Good good... Pyrrha, I’m going to head back to the dorms. I don’t think we’ll be going on our mission after all of this and I’m... Well...”

“I understand. Do you want me to go with you?” she asked.

_No._

“Yes.” He lied. He knew Pyrrha would likely want to keep an eye on him after that.

Pyrrha, to her credit, gave him some space as they collected their teammates. Together they all boarded the first bullhead back to Beacon.

Ren and Nora apologized for the fire dust in that bag when Pyrrha told them what happened. Jaune accepted it and dismissed the issue entirely. It was his order to grab everything they could fit that led to it anyway and he said as much.

Jaune was physically exhausted and mentally even more so. The stress and disappointment from yet another breakdown was draining his energy. It was this mental fatigue that had him borrowing Pyrrha’s shoulder as he rested his eyes.

**/-/**

“Jaune,” Pyrrha said, bumping his head with her shoulder. “We’re here.”

Jaune cracked open his eyes. Looking around he realized Ren and Nora had already disembarked.

Seeing him look for his teammates, Pyrrha explained that they’d gotten something to eat. Nora had been complaining about not getting to eat a full breakfast.

Jaune groggily stumbled back to his feet and began walking back to the dorms. What he needed right now was a nap.

“You know, Jaune... Maybe we should do something about your... reaction to fire.” Pyrrha suggested.

_I guess sleep will have to wait until after this conversation._

“I’m already trying to get a tolerance for it, aren’t I?” Jaune asked.

He realized he sounded more defensive and rude than he’d intended to.

“Sorry. I’m just tired.” He apologized.

“It’s fine.” She dismissed instantly. “I just think that maybe you’re going about it the wrong way. You’re developing a resistance to it, but you’re not fixing the issue. And it’s not like we even know what kind of reaction you’re going to have to train a response either. You freeze up, you lash out, I don’t know what happened today but that Ursa could have killed you.”

Jaune sighed. “Okay. You’re right. But what should I be doing then?”

“I was doing some research-”

“Pyrrha...” Jaune interrupted, annoyed that she was wasting her time on him like this.

“I was worried okay! Look, lots of huntsmen get post-traumatic stress disorders after work in the field. Something like three-fifths of surviving huntsmen experience it after a few years on the job. There’s been plenty of studies done into this for that reason.” Pyrrha explained.

“You think I have PTSD?” Jaune asked with a hint of frustration.

“No. Maybe, I don’t know. It’s similar. Can’t we at least try some of the stuff they suggest? For my sake, please?” Pyrrha begged.

Jaune couldn’t have said no to that even if he’d wanted to.

“Fine. What’s your idea.”

“Well... I don’t understand all of it, but apparently, you can unlearn the memory, or replace it with something else. They normally use an anti-anxiety medic-”

“I don’t need drugs.” Jaune immediately interrupted.

“I know, let me finish.” She reproached. “That’s what they normally use, but I thought... What if right as we expose you to your trigger, I distracted you, reminded you that you were safe.”

Jaune considered the idea. It wasn’t out of the realms of rationality, and it wasn’t even that different from what he was already doing. Exposure therapy with a little extra.

“How are we supposed to do that though?” He asked. “Even with aura, fire is dangerous. It’s not like I’ll just forget that.”

Pyrrha pulled a small lighter out of her pocket.

“Where did you-”

“I was going to suggest this as training on our mission. It would be wasteful to use aura for anything but fighting Grimm. I bought it yesterday.” Said Pyrrha as she sparked the lighter, igniting a small flame.

Jaune’s eyes were drawn straight to it, but even as tired as he was, he’d worked with flames of this size enough to resist. He could feel himself becoming hyper-vigilant, more on edge, and tense, but beyond that he was fine.

Before he could comment, Pyrrha planted a chaste kiss on his cheek.

“If you see fire, think of me. You know I’m not dangerous... My hair is red so you can try to form an association there. We could try more classical conditioning too... If you do well, I could... reward you.” Pyrrha awkwardly explained her plan.

In her defense, it had worked. He wasn’t thinking about the small flame.

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to turn... that, into a reward for training.” Said Jaune, not wanting to use Pyrrha in that way.

“Why not?” She asked. “You didn’t mind before we started dating when it was a challenge during training.”

“Because back then I didn’t believe you’d do it, and half the challenges I had no hope of beating anyway. I don’t want to make you do this for my sake.”

“It wouldn’t just be for your sake.” She mumbled. “And I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it. Don’t you?”

Pyrrha put the lighter away and tried to get closer to him. Jaune stepped back, cornering himself against the door to their dorm.

“I do...” he said as Pyrrha stepped closer. “I just can’t help but wonder if we’re going a bit too fast.”

“Are you saying that because you’re not comfortable, or because you think that’s what you’re supposed to say? You could’ve gotten hurt today Jaune. I don’t want to hold back because and wait some arbitrary length of time that other people decided was right. We fight monsters; any day could be our last.”

Jaune realized that his performance today had bothered her more than he had realized. She was trying this hard to help him get through his disorder because she didn’t want him in as much danger. She wanted to spend time with him like this because she thought she almost lost him.

“I’m not going anywhere Pyrrha. And I’m sorry for worrying you.” He said, putting some space between them.

Jaune opened the door to his room and began taking off his gear.

“I’m not uncomfortable, I don’t think so anyway. I’m just... traditional, I guess? I don’t want to rush things. I don’t want to miss any step of... us.”

“I see,” Pyrrha said.

“So...” Jaune immediately added, interrupting whatever she might have started thinking. “It might not be for training, and it might not be as... enjoyable. But if you want we could... lie down together?”

Pyrrha raised both eyebrows. “You want to lie down with me? As in to sleep?”

“Yes?” Jaune cautiously responded.

Pyrrha snorted almost instantly.

“Forget I said anything.” Said Jaune as he jumped into his bed and turned his back to face her.

Jaune wished he could fall asleep and try to forget he had said what he said. It wasn't to be. The sound of Pyrrha removing her armor and snickering was painfully loud in this empty room.

“Jaune.” Said Pyrrha, trying to get his attention.

He ignored her, pretending to have fallen asleep.

She huffed in what sounded like amusement at his behavior.

Jaune felt the covers lift and he instantly turned around to tell her to let him sleep.

He was rendered speechless when before he could get a word in, she slid next to him.

“I get to be the little spoon.” She said with a grin, grabbing his arm and draping it over herself.

Jaune’s brain caught up a few seconds later. He pulled her in close, slipping his other arm under the pillow her head was resting on.

“Goodnight Jaune.” Pyrrha teased.

He sighed.

“Goodnight.”


	33. The Aftermath I

“Should we wake them?”

Jaune stirred slightly, brought ever so slightly to consciousness by someone talking nearby.

Deciding to ignore it, he grabbed the pillow near him and held it closer.

“No! They look so cute, we can’t wake them.”

Jaune scrunched up his eyes and burrowed his head further into the pillow. Something tickled his nose and he could faintly smell something fruity.

“But what about the professor? He said to get Jaune.”

Unable to fall back asleep, he was starting to become more aware of his surroundings.

_Was that Ruby talking?_

“Let’s at least take some photos first.”

Jaune immediately forced his eyes open, wincing at the exposure to bright light. It was still daytime, in fact by the looks of things it was still morning.

The next thing he registered was a bright flash of light and a shutter sound.

Jaune tried to turn and look at who was taking pictures of him sleeping. He swiftly found his arm trapped under something.

_Oh. Oh yeah._

Another photo was taken.

Craning his neck, Yang was there with her scroll at the ready. She was hard at work acquiring as much blackmail material as she could. Behind her was the rest of team RWBY, and Nora, and Ren. Though Ren looked like he was just along for the ride, less thoroughly amused, and more exhausted. He was probably jealous that Jaune got to have a nap when he didn’t.

Jaune tried once more to pull his arm free so that he could take that scroll and delete all the evidence. Sadly, his efforts only served to roust the girl by his side.

Pyrrha rolled into Jaune, burying her face into his chest and gripping his shirt.

“Five more minutes.” She mumbled.

Jaune almost forgot about the audience. Pyrrha never had issues waking up. Since when did she ask for “five more minutes’. That was something he expected from Nora, or himself if he was honest.

“Ooh, that’s a good one. Smile for the camera lover-boy.” Yang said, taking the third photo.

“I’ll get you for this Yang.” Jaune threatened as he slid a pillow between Pyrrha and him. He hoped that the fluffy substitute would distract her long enough to get away from her embrace.

Pyrrha wrapped her arms around the replacement Jaune and pulled it into a crushing hug. Jaune in the meanwhile finally pulled his arm free and lashed out to snatch the scroll.

Yang was too quick and immediately slipped the scroll down her bra.

“Too slow! Although you can try to get it back if you’re brave enough.” Yang taunted.

Jaune growled. “Dirty fighter. That’s cheating.”

“If you two could stop flirting.” Blake interrupted. “Professor Ozpin wanted to talk to you. He said your scroll was off.”

Jaune didn’t realize that. He reached over and grabbed the scroll from the bedside table. It wasn’t just off, it was busted.

“Ah... Must have broken it during the fight.” Jaune explained. “I’ll go see him now. Any clue what it’s about.”

“He probably wants your report. We had to give ours when we got back.” Weiss answered.

Jaune nodded. “Right, well, thanks for telling me. If anyone can get those photos deleted off Yang’s phone I’ll owe you double.”

Collectively all six of his onlookers gave him a look that told him it wasn’t going to happen.

“Jaune...” Pyrrha mumbled in her sleep.

**/-/**

“Hey, Oz,” Jaune said upon entering his office. “Oh, and General Ironwood. Thanks for the backup out there. Those robots of yours are pretty cool.”

“From what I’ve been told, you’re the one who deserves some gratitude, not my mechs.” The general responded.

“Sir?” Jaune asked.

“Sit down Jaune.” The professor said, gesturing to the seat in front of him. “We received the reports from members of team RWBY as well as several others who were involved in the breach. Do you know what they said?”

Jaune took his seat and scratched his neck awkwardly.

“Yang probably wasn’t happy. I took their team leader away to try something I wasn’t a hundred percent certain would work. Plus she had to save my butt from an Ursa.” Jaune stated.

“That’s true, she did have some complaints. But at the same time, you received quite a bit of positive feedback.” Oz responded.

_I did?_

“Miss Belladonna mentioned how you took charge quite proficiently. Your leadership left little room for indecision or argument. Miss Rose was very impressed by your decision making on the field. Even Miss Schnee had words to share on your fight with a Guardian Deathstalker. I’m told you managed to defeat one single-handedly. Right before destroying not just one, but two nightmare stones. All while maintaining effective communication between both your team and team RWBY.” Oz explained.

“It wasn’t as impressive as you’re making it sound. The Guardian Grimm was a series of lucky breaks and the two stones only got dealt with because of Ruby. It was Nora and Ren who brought me the dust too.” Jaune countered.

“There’s no such thing as luck Jaune.” The general firmly stated. “You may have been playing the odds, but you made consistent correct decisions. That’s how you killed that Deathstalker. That’s why you ordered your team to bring you the dust. That’s why you ordered Miss Rose away from her team as you did.”

“Indeed. From what I’ve been told, your actions may well have saved the life of Dr. Oobleck.”

“It wasn’t-”

“It was. I don’t even know what you were planning on saying, but I can assure you, you’re wrong. Good deeds deserve recognition. It’s time you got some.” The professor interrupted.

Jaune knew it wasn’t worth trying to fight the professor on this issue. He wasn’t happy with his performance. But if it is important enough for Oz to take a stand like he was, he could accept the false praise.

“Okay... So what then? A medal or something?” Jaune asked.

“Not quite.” The general responded. “Perhaps if you had of prevented this incident before it even occurred you would be getting a medal. Unfortunately, the loss of life is too great for that level of celebration.”

“It is expected that Beacon gives a... response, to address the concerns of the public. After events like this, normally I would meet with a reporter and answer a few questions. Instead, I’m giving you the opportunity.” The professor proudly explained.

“So let me get this right. My reward for doing well and saving lives, is that I get to do your work for you?” Jaune asked.

“Well...” the professor mumbled.

The general laughed out loud. “He sure has your number now Oz.”

“There is more to it than just ‘doing my work for me’. This is a chance to get your name out there. It’s experience with public speaking too. I won’t be there to tell you what to say.” Said Oz.

“What if I say something wrong? Is there anything I shouldn’t say?” asked Jaune.

“If you say something truly horrendous we will contact them ourselves. But beyond that, you can say what you want.”

Jaune sighed. “Well, I guess I can just consider this training. What time is the interview?”

“11 o’clock, in the courtyard.” The general responded.

_Hang on..._

Jaune checked the clock on the wall. It was 10:54.

“You’d best hurry. Wouldn’t want to be late.” The general advised.

Jaune turned and rushed out of his office.

“Oh, and you can blame your friends for taking too long! I sent them an hour ago and called an hour before that!” The professor shouted out after him.

**/-/**

It wasn’t hard to find the people he was looking for. A white-haired woman in a business suit accompanied by two guys carting around boom mikes and a huge camera.

“You guys here for the interview with Professor Ozpin?” Jaune called out.

“No, actually I was told we wouldn’t be speaking with the professor, though if that’s an option-” she responded.

“Nah I didn’t mean to imply it was, he’s uhh busy. Who are you expecting?”

“We were told that we would be meeting a ‘Jaune Arc’.”

_At least one of us knew this was a thing._

“I am he... him... I’m Jaune. Nice to meet you...” Jaune offered his hand.

The lady took it. “Lisa Lavender, Anchorwoman of the Vale News Network. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

With basic introductions out of the way, Lisa dove right into business.

She opened with a question he hadn’t had to answer in a long time.

“Your class is Novice. I may just be misinformed, but that’s not a class that is seen very often. I haven’t ever come across a Novice in my years of reporting on huntsman. Would you mind telling us a few details?”

Jaune elaborated on the strengths of his class. His ability to learn any skill that he puts dedicated time toward. He also felt happy sharing the weakness which was that he gained no benefits from leveling. Others knowing this couldn’t hurt him. What he did keep secret was the limitation on how he learned skills. He hadn't come here with this planned. But if other competitors are worried about having their skills stolen, they may not use them in the fight.

Next Lisa had asked him to provide some details about what happened.

Jaune pointed out that his team and team RWBY had been the first to respond. He discussed the fact that the attack had been orchestrated by the White Fang. Jaune wasn’t the most educated on the topic. He was going off pieces that he had put together. Ruby had said they were just outside the kingdom. He also remembered vaguely that the train came from the South-West. He pointed out that they had used stolen dust and military supplies to perform the attack. But with no other information on how or why he finished by explaining how the issue had been resolved. Team RWBY’s efforts to hold their ground and slow the outpour of Grimm. His team’s efforts to cull the Grimm in the streets. Reluctantly he pointed out his efforts, even if he still wasn’t happy with his performance in the end.

“You’re telling me a bunch of first-year students managed to fight through a horde of Grimm, and one even slew a guardian? Even with assistance, that’s quite the accomplishment for a so-called Novice.” Lisa said. She no doubt would be using that joke in some way in her story.

“I had some great teachers. My team has been there every step of the way. It wasn’t just me; it was everyone working together that got it done.” Jaune replied.

“Would we be correct to assume Nicholas Arc is one of those teachers?” she asked.

Jaune paused for a second in shock.

“You know my dad? I didn’t think he was that well known considering he isn’t from around here.” Lisa nodded. “Well, yeah. He was my very first teacher. Taught me how to use a sword and shield. I’d have to say I learned a lot more in my time at Beacon, but I won’t deny that he laid the foundations for my growth. He was... a good dad.”

_And I haven’t even tried to contact them once since I left home._

“Who then could have taught you more than a professional huntsman like your father?” Lisa prompted, eager for more details. It was as if she could smell the story that Jaune had yet to reveal to her.

“Well... My partner for one. You don’t train every day with a huntress like Pyrrha Nikos without-”

“Your partner is Pyrrha Nikos? The Invincible Girl?” Lisa suddenly asked.

“Yeah. Practically plucked me out of the sky in initiation and we’ve been together ever since. We’ve trained together daily almost all year, although we haven’t trained together lately.” Jaune let slip that last part without really thinking about the potential consequences.

“Oh? Trouble in paradise?” Lisa teased.

“Nothing that serious. She and I both want to win the tournament in two weeks. If I train with her prior, how am I supposed to develop a trump card to beat her with.”

“That’s quite the claim. You’re saying you can beat the four year running Mistral Regional Tournament winner?”

“I’m not saying I can or will. But I am saying that when Pyrrha and I make it to the singles rounds, I’m going to give her the fight of her life. She might win, but I’m going to make her work for it.”

“'When we make it to the singles rounds'. This is great stuff. So if you haven’t been training with her, what have you been doing?” Lisa prompted.

“Training with professor Ozpin, he’s taken me as his apprentice,” Jaune said, fully ready for the coming reaction.

“What? Wait, is that why you’re here today instead of someone else?” She asked. Jaune swore he could see Lien signs in her eyes.

“Pretty much. ‘Chance to make a name for myself’ he said, but it’s also to help him handle the workload after what happened. He’s been training me personally for a few weeks in total, though our... ‘relationship’ has been a thing since the start of the second semester. He has given me a few tools already which I think will be useful, though his training is unorthodox.”

“Alright, one final question. Would you be willing to take another interview with me in the future? A live one perhaps? I’ve already got more than enough for what I came for today, so I’d love to do a second piece during the tournament itself.” Lisa asked.

Jaune nodded. “I’m sure I can make time for that. But I was serious about what I said earlier, I’m aiming to win. So you might have to work with me for timing.”

“I can do that. Thanks for your time today. It’s been an enjoyable experience. Keep your eyes open this afternoon at 7.” Lisa advised.

Jaune said his farewells to the woman who would likely be chasing him down in the coming days. She had taken his scroll number and shared her own. All under the pretense of wanting to schedule a future appointment, of course.

With the meeting out of the way, Jaune realized it would be prudent to try and get a replacement for his scroll.

He headed for the training grounds and checked how much he had earned from his kills during the breach.

The guardian alone had been enough money to get him a replacement, an entire teams pay all for him. But with the miscellaneous Grimm he had dealt with on top, he would be sitting comfortably for a while.

Jaune boarded the first bullhead back into town. He was hoping to find a store that was still open after everything that had happened. He wasn’t likely to be the only person who had broken a scroll. There were likely many who needed to tell their family that they were okay. The odds that there would be a shop somewhere open for that were good.

Eventually, after an hour of asking around, he found a place that was still running.

It was a general-purpose huntsman store. The kind that had a bit of everything you might need before or after a mission. A large cache of medical supplies had been dragged out the front of the store with a sign saying ‘take what you need’.

“Hey, I need a replacement scroll. Mine got busted up today.” Jaune said as he approached the man who was rushing about the store.

The man took one look at Jaune before tossing him a box.

“For a huntsman, 700 Lien. Did you help out this morning?” Jaune nodded. “500 Lien then.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind paying, it looks like you’ve been helping out in your own way.” Jaune asked.

“Nonsense boy, you save lives, I’m giving away bandages for a scraped knee. 500 Lien, just leave it on the counter.” The owner firmly stated.

Jaune respected the man’s attitude. Perhaps almost as much as the owner respected huntsmen. He left the 500 Lien on the counter as requested. It would be rude to force more money on him when he was being as honorable as he was.

Jaune decided he would use the cash he’d saved as productively as possible, to honor the man’s decision. Jaune had enough leftover that he could probably afford a small piece of armor, maybe two if they came as a set.

So many buildings were still in a state of disrepair in the city as Jaune walked to his next destination. Ms. Goodwitch had repaired a lot, and he was sure there were other forces in play doing the same. But it would be some time before Vale was back to its former glory.

No amount of damage to the city could have prepared him for what he saw next though.

The entrance to the blacksmith had been torn clean off the hinges. Large scratch marks had been carved into the doorway.

“Hey, old man! You alive in here?” Jaune suddenly shouted out, running inside.

The shop was a mess. The displays of polished weapons and suits of armor were scattered all over the floor. The counter had been crushed by a large and heavy object, now nothing more than splinters. Glass covered the floor, crunching under Jaune’s feet as he entered.

“Damn it!” Jaune shouted when there was no immediate response.

“Quit your yelling!” A familiar voice called out from a back room. “I’ve got enough of a headache as it is.”

Jaune wasn’t particularly close to this man, little more than a client. But the relief he felt when he heard the blacksmith’s response was almost overwhelming.

Of course, when he saw him, that relief disappeared.

The blacksmith had a bloody bandage covering half of his face. His left arm was bound up in an equally bloodied sling.

“What the hell happened to you?” Jaune asked in a hurry.

“Beowolf got inside. Tore the damn door right off its hinges. I managed to clobber the thing with my hammer, but not before it tried to take an arm and a leg... Or an arm and one of my eyes in this instance.” He explained.

“How bad is it?” Jaune asked. It certainly looked bad.

“It could have been worse, I’ll be able to work again in a few months. I reckon a blacksmith who fought off a Grimm with his merchandise will pull a few more customers too. What do you think?” The man joked.

“Yeah, probably. So you won’t be able to work for a while, huh?” The man nodded. “Good thing you had that suit fixed up for me already huh?”

The smith smiled and immediately began pulling out a few pieces to show Jaune. A helmet from the set had been crushed underfoot of the Grimm in the attack. Otherwise, the pieces made it out okay.

“How much for the gloves and the forearm guards?” Jaune asked.

The gloves were leather mostly. They had strips of steel that protected the backs of his fingers, knuckles, and the back of his hand. An observation revealed they would increase the damage fist-based attacks. They would also reduce damage like his breastplate.

The forearm guards were a little more special. The vambraces were a series of slideable plates that interlocked with each other. At maximum extension, they would cover up to the back of his hand down to his elbow. If desired, the plates could slide back behind the wrist to allow more flexibility for those who need it.

“400 each for the forearm guards and another 200 for the gloves.” The smith stated.

Jaune immediately withdrew the requested sum and handed it over straight away.

“No need for haggling here. You’ve earned it today I think.” Jaune said as a half-joke half-compliment.

“I appreciate that.” The man gave Jaune a longer than usual stare. “Tell me, lad, what’s your name again?”

Jaune thought for a few seconds.

_I don’t think I ever gave him my name..._

“It’s Jaune. Jaune Arc.” He finally responded.

“An Arc is it? I thought as much. I knew that symbol was familiar. You can call me Ashley, or Ashe for short.” He loudly declared. “

Jaune glanced at his sheathe. Even in this form, the Arc double crescent was visible.

“You’ve seen it before?” Jaune asked.

“Aye, that I have. Just didn’t realize it until now.”

“Right...” Jaune looked around at the mess in the man’s store. “Listen, do you want a hand cleaning all this up?”

The smith looked genuinely shocked at the offer.

“Don’t you have a big tournament to be preparing for?” He asked.

“I do... But it can’t be easy trying to cart all of this around and set it back up with one arm. Not to mention your depth perception is shot. It’s a huntsman’s job to help people, so I mean... I’m sure you could get all this done yourself, but if you want a hand?”

“You’re a good lad. To tell the truth, it has been difficult trying to operate a broom and a pan to get all of this cleared up. It’s not huntsman work but-”

“I’ll do it.” Jaune interrupted.

Jaune swept up the remains of his wooden counter and the shattered glass up off the floor. Then, without being asked he started setting up the displays as he remembered seeing them. Eventually, the smith informed Jaune that there were a few things that needed to be picked up. Jaune was more than happy to help.

He spent the afternoon racing around the city picking up a variety of objects. A new door and a reinforced steel frame to put it in, a flat-packed counter, even some supplies for the man’s work. If Ashe thought he was going to be carrying all this back himself with one arm, he was more tired than he looked. Even for Jaune, the task was slow going and hardly comfortable.

When he returned, he got a crash course in repairs from the man. Interestingly, the tutorial unlocked a new skill.

 **[Construction: Level 0]**  
You know your way around a hammer and saw.   
Reduced mistakes when performing construction or repair jobs.   
An innate understanding of structures comes with skill level.

It was the second non-combat skill he had ever learned, and the first that wasn’t also used by huntsmen. For situations like this, Jaune was happy he learned it. It wouldn’t save lives, but all work was good work if it helped people.

Jaune put together the new counter, moving it where the man wanted it. He installed the reinforced door too and finished a dozen other miscellaneous tasks. By the time he was finished, it was sundown. With curfew approaching, it was time for Jaune to leave.

“Hopefully that should cover things for a while. I won’t be able to come back and check on you for a while, so don’t go fighting anymore Grimm.” Jaune teased. He got on well with the man. A simple, honest, and hardworking guy with a great sense of humor.

“True, I’ll try to avoid that next time.” Ashe sarcastically responded. “Listen, lad, you were a big help today. I want you to take this.”

The man tossed him a bag which when opened, Jaune saw it contained the greaves and boot plates for his armor set.

“I didn’t help you for a reward or anything, it’s fine,” Jaune said as he tried to hand back the package.

The smith firmly pushed it back into his chest.

“I know you didn’t. Take it anyway. There wasn’t much for me to do while you rebuilt my store for me. So I watched a bit of TV to pass the time. You know what I saw?” he asked.

Jaune nodded. He had missed the deadline for his part while he was working, so it had been on his mind to try and see if it was online.

“You’re a tenacious little brat, you know that? Acting all concerned for me taking out one little Beowolf and offering to help me because of it. Meanwhile, you were out there all morning. You’ve come a long way from the scrawny lad that walked into my shop one year ago. That news lady called you a hero, and I’m inclined to agree. So take the damn armor, you’ve earned it.”

His tone was one of frustration like he was scolding Jaune. But his words were anything but.

Jaune stopped trying to hand back the bag and just nodded.

“Now get out of here, I want to see you win that tournament so the whole world knows how good my armor is,” Ashe said with a smile, pushing Jaune out the door with his one good arm.

Jaune silently pledged that he would try to do just that.

**/-/**

Back at Beacon Jaune realized just how separate it was from Vale.

The city was just a short five-minute flight away. It was recovering from the worst attack it had had in who knows how long. Back here though, the gardens were still flawless. The tower still glowed green, illuminating the courtyard. The threat of Grimm felt so far away.

Jaune had forgotten what it meant to be normal. Or rather, this was his normal now.

He had superpowers, like in the comics he used to read as a kid. Explosions were a second thought, giant monsters were just 'part of the job'.

For the rest of the world though, that wasn’t the case. Flimsy doors and a hammer was all that stood between the average citizen and certain death.

That, and him. He and the other huntsman and huntresses that fight the good fight.

An afternoon with Ashe had reminded him of how fragile life could be. It reminded him of how two thugs in an alleyway had been considered a very real threat.

Jaune had the power to do more now. Perhaps it was time he started doing more with it.

Whipping out his new scroll, he gave Oz a call.

“Yes, Jaune?” the professor asked. He sounded distant, he was probably fielding phone calls on speaker so he could keep his hands free.

“Do you have time to talk?” Jaune asked.

“I can make some time. Why don’t you come up now?” Oz offered.

“Sounds good,” Jaune responded before hanging up.

He sent Pyrrha a quick text to let her know where he’d be and made his way over to the professor’s office.

“Hey, Oz,” Jaune said as he entered. “I wanted to ask about missions.”

The professor was speed-reading his way through a tall pile of reports, and requests. He stamped it and moved onto another.

“What about them?”

“When’s the next chance for our teams to go on one? Our mission is canceled as far as I’m aware, with all the huntsmen being recalled or sent out.”

The professor hummed, stamped, and grabbed a new document.

“Why the sudden interest? Not that I disapprove, but you’ve always been more focused on your training.” Oz explained.

“I spent some time out in the city today. I guess I just feel like I should be doing more.”

“You can’t save everyone Jaune-”

“I know! I know... and I’m not trying to. I just want to do something more. I want to help people who can’t help themselves.”

The professor nodded and put down the form he was looking at to address Jaune directly.

“In a little over a month, you’ll be starting the first semester of your second year. Second-year students are allowed to take away missions, real ones, as long as they have permission. If you’d like, I can get your team as many missions as you can handle without sacrificing your grades.”

“I’d appreciate that sir. So basically, I should focus on the tournament for now, and I can take on as much as I need to after. That works perfectly.” Jaune responded.

“How about we talk about something else now? Your little segment of the news was great, did you see it?” the professor asked, taking up the form once more.

“No, apparently I’m being called a hero or something. Hardly seems fair to everyone else though.”

The professor chuckled. “Humility is good and well, but you shouldn’t undersell yourself too much. The other’s of your team and team RWBY are heroes too, they’re just not in the news about it. It’s okay to enjoy your five minutes of-”

An alarm blared from beside Ozpin’s desk.

“What’s that?” Jaune asked.

“That... means we have an intruder on campus grounds.” The professor calmly explained. The elevator began to descend to the ground floor. “And it seems they’re here to see me. How very interesting. Jaune please do stand over this side of the desk.”

Jaune watched as the elevator floor changed from ground, to 1st and upwards.

_Ding!_

“Ozpin you bastard! You tell me where my son is this instant!” A tall blonde man shouted as he brandished his sword in his direction. He was stopped dead in his tracks three steps into the room.

“H-hey, dad... Long time no see?”


	34. Training Arc I

"H-hey Dad... Long time no see?"

The room was silent for what felt like forever.

Jaune's father broke the silence by sheathing his sword. His heavy footsteps thudded on the floor as he approached.

Oz had stepped away, circling the man who had practically broken into his office. There was no one standing between Jaune and his father anymore.

"Look, I know you're probably mad. I know I haven't called. And I know I should've, trust me I do! Things have just been really busy and I-"

His father shut him up by grabbing his shoulders and pulling him into a choking hug.

"Do you know how worried we all were? Who raised you to be such an idiot? Because it wasn't your mother!"

Jaune was shocked, stunned even. He had expected anger, disappointment, he had half expected his father to strike him for what he did. Concern and jokes hadn't been on his register at all. Jaune's brain was on autopilot as he tried to process the information and responded for him.

"I think that means I got it from you."

His father brought his fist directly on top of his head.

"Ow!" Jaune instantly shouted. "I'm sorry!"

"As you well should be! We all expected you to be out here training for next year's initiation. Not fighting off Grimm invasions and terrorists. What the hell were you thinking?" his father scolded.

"I guess you saw me on the news then?" Jaune responded.

_Crack_

"I said what were you thinking!" His father shouted after landing another bone-breaking blow to his scalp.

"I don't know! What do you want me to say? I'm a huntsman now, it's kind of my job to do that sort of stuff."

"That's another thing! How the hell did you get in? There's no way you could have made it through initiation like you were." Nicholas turned to address the professor, only to realize he was no longer standing there. He growled in anger. "If this 'master' of yours thinks he can get out of talking to me about this, he has another thing coming. Explain now, from the start."

Jaune wasted no time in giving his father the full rundown with no details spared. He started with his departure and arrival in Vale. He didn't bother to hide the acquisition of his faked transcripts. Then was the initiation where he unlocked his aura and his class before fighting off the White Fang. Finally, he described the weeks of training and all his missions. His father already seemed to know about the breach, so he didn't bother explaining that.

By the time he finished, the moon had already started to make its way down toward the horizon. He barely even felt tired though, he was still too stressed from the interrogation.

"Hrm. Fine, I can see how everything happened. I'll say one thing, you are a lucky bastard if nothing else. At any stage, you could have lost your damn life, you idiot. Who ignites an entire dust container in their face as a survival instinct, honestly. There are a few details you got wrong though." His father stated.

_How could I get the details of my own story wrong...?_

"You didn't steal Crocea Mors. I left it for you."

"What? No, it was up on its holder, you were all asleep." Jaune countered.

"If I hadn't have wanted you to take that sword, there wouldn't have been a thing you could have done to take it. Tell me, what is the family sword famous for?" Nicholas asked.

"It's never been broken through all the generations. It's a sword that breaks through any defense. You and Granddad are famous for your feats of strength with the blade. I've seen you cut through trees in a single swing like it was an axe." Jaune answered instantly. He'd heard the stories enough times that he could never forget them.

"Exactly. Now tell me, is the blade particularly sharp? Sharper than any other blades?"

Jaune drew it and ran his finger along the edge to confirm. It was sharp, but there were plenty of sharper weapons.

"No..."

"How about its weight? Pretty light I'd bet. Most weapons capable of that kind of force would be heavier, no?" His father pushed.

"I mean, yeah probably. I thought it was just because of how strong you and all the other wielders were." Jaune responded.

"That's only half of it. The truth is though, that Crocea Mors has a secret. One that no amount of observation can reveal. Only the heirs of the Arc family who dedicate themselves to the blade learn about it, and only when they've earned the right to be its true owner."

_Is he talking about the feature that my observe skill never reveals?_

"It's time for you to learn." His father stated. "Channel your aura into the blade."

Jaune raised an eyebrow at his father but did as he asked.

"Not like that. Do it like you're activating dust. Don't just rest your aura in the blade, but give your aura to it." His father corrected.

_Like activating dust?_

Jaune tried to imagine it. At first, nothing happened, but eventually, something clicked. The aura he placed within the blade was absorbed entirely. It disappeared without a trace. The instant his aura disappeared the blade seemed to grow heavier. Not by much, maybe half a pound at most, but for a three-pound blade, it was noticeable.

"The truth is, Crocea Mors is a one of a kind blade from a time before mechashift was invented. Huntsmen and soldiers alike searched for a way to create stronger weapons. Something to give them an edge in their fight against the Grimm. Crocea Mors was the only successful product from hundreds of attempts. A perfect fusion of dust with steel in a permanent and stable manner. Our family's blade is as strong and durable as it is because it is made of a gravity dust alloy. One that has never been replicated since its first creation, despite numerous attempts. It is incredibly dense, dense to the point where its creation required entire teams of men. The dust within the steel controls its weight. With time, the wielder can make it as light or as heavy as they desire." His father explained.

"How heavy are we talking?" Jaune asked.

"Heavy enough that not one member of our family has ever unlocked its full potential. The Arc training style is and always has been simple forms and overpowering momentum. We train from childhood until retirement with that in mind. When I was its owner, the blade would have weighed easily forty pounds."

"But it didn't-"

"That's right, it didn't. The night we told you to give up on your dream, I intentionally re-sealed the weight of the blade. Your mother and I wouldn't be able to force you to stay home forever. If it hadn't been that night, it would have been another, and there's nothing we could have done to stop you. Short of tying you up in the basement for the rest of your life at least. I left you that sword so that when you did leave, you'd at least have something to rely on.

Jaune once again didn't know what to say. His mouth just opened and closed as he failed to find the appropriate response.

"I don't know if you thought you couldn't call because you were ashamed, or afraid of our response. But there is one thing I need to make clear." His father placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "We have always believed in you. It was my decision to leave you without aura, one which I made with the best intentions in mind. By the sounds of your story, that makes it my fault that you went as long as you did without a class. But class or no class, I was always proud of who you were. I'm proud of who you are Jaune. I'm just sorry that you had to shoulder all of this by yourself. You are just as much an Arc as everyone who came before you."

That was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

He had proved to himself that he could be strong and fight like a hero. His friends had shown that they valued his leadership and his skill as a fighter. He had been called a hero, not once but twice by people who barely knew him. And now his father had told him that not just had he become worthy of his family name, but that he had always been worthy.

Jaune cried. Silent tears and shaking shoulders that he couldn't control no matter how much he wanted to stop.

He'd never been happier.

Jaune wound up sneaking back into his room to get some sleep before the sun came back up. He secretly held the hope that when he got back, Pyrrha might still be asleep in his bed. The nap he had shared with her had been one of the most comfortable, satisfying experiences he'd had. Sadly, she was asleep in her bed this time.

Mentally and physically exhausted, Jaune crashed instantly.

**/-/**

"Wakey wakey Jauney!" Nora shouted as she shook Jaune awake. "It's breakfast time! If we hurry we might get a full breakfast this time!"

There was no point trying to resist, Nora wouldn't give in until he was up anyway. Jaune rolled out of bed and groggily got ready for the day.

"What took you so long last night?" Pyrrha asked.

"Ahh right, sorry. I had an unexpected guest last night and I was up late talking to him." Jaune explained.

No sooner than he said that, a loud thump echoed on the door.

"The sun is up Jaune, I don't recall teaching you to waste daylight hours!" His father's voice called from beyond.

"Is this the same person?" Ren asked.

"Yep, I suppose I should introduce you all," Jaune said.

He opened the door and gestured for his father to come inside. With him came team RWBY who had apparently been watching from their room.

"Do you guys know the meaning of the word privacy?" Jaune asked.

"'A state in which one is not observed or disturbed by other people'." Blake sarcastically responded.

_Smartass…_

"Pyrrha, Ren, Nora… This is my father, Nicholas Arc. Dad these are my teammates and a bunch of other grubs that I'm constantly harassed by, team RWBY." Jaune introduced.

"Wait, this is what Jaune's future looks like? Pyrrha you lucky girl." Yang teased.

"And what exactly does she mean by that Jaune?" His father sternly asked.

Jaune hadn't included this part in his explanation of everything that had happened.

With a look in Pyrrha's direction to warn her what he was about to do, he sighed. "Pyrrha is my partner. And as of three days ago, my girlfriend."

His father looked Pyrrha up and down.

"She looks like she could kick your ass son." He stated matter-of-factly.

Yang openly laughed in his face while Pyrrha tried to utter some excuses to the contrary.

Nicholas leaned in close. "Like father like son I suppose. Well done kiddo."

He placed a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder and gave her a shining smile. "You look after my boy. I promise he's worth it. With that said though, it would be best if you all said your goodbyes."

"What, why?" Jaune asked. "I'm not quitting or going back to-"

"Of course you're not you idiot. You're coming with me to train. Your friends can see you again in two weeks."

"What?! Jaune is undertaking secret training without us! Who will help Ren cook our meals?" Nora shouted.

"Who will keep Pyrrha warm at night?" Yang asked just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I swear I never… Jaune wouldn't… I mean I'm not saying I'd be against it, but…" Nicholas raised an eyebrow. Pyrrha realized there would be no recovering from that one and just shut her mouth.

"So… I guess we'll see you at the tournament then?" Ruby asked.

"Trust me, I'm as shocked by the news as the rest of you. I'll see you then, I guess." Jaune replied.

Ruby jumped forward and hugged him. Soon after, Nora pounced on him too.

Finally, Pyrrha came forward. The other girls broke away to give them the space they needed.

"I'll be back before you know it. We were already training apart, so it's just mealtimes and bedtimes." Said Jaune, trying to convince himself just as much as her.

Pyrrha gave him a long hug and he kissed her on the cheek.

With his farewells given out, his father took him straight to the bullheads and they flew into Vale.

"Where are we headed?" Jaune asked.

"Camping trip. We need a lot of space." His father responded.

"I see…"

The trip was strangely quiet. There was very little small talk coming from his father.

"Is there something I should be worried about? Is the training going to be dangerous? You're kind of giving off some eerie vibes here." Jaune mentioned.

His father just nodded.

Was that meant to say that the training would be dangerous? Or was he merely in agreement that he was giving off eerie vibes?

His father led him out of the city to the north into a small patch of forest. It was nothing compared to the Emerald Forest or the Forever Fall, but it held some nostalgia. Camping had been an Arc family tradition his whole life.

Suddenly, something small slammed into Jaune. Jaune let out a grunt as the wind was knocked out of his lungs.

"Jaune's here!" A high pitched voice declared.

Looking down he saw a small blonde girl with her arms struggling to reach around his waist. She looked up at him and shone the biggest, widest smile he had ever seen.

"Amber?" Jaune asked. "Dad what is Amber doing here?"

"Not just Amber." Was his father's succinct response.

"Jaune!" half a dozen other voices shouted.

That was all the warning he received before five of his six remaining sisters all tackled him to the ground.

Jaune tried to wriggle his way out of their grasp but found himself too heavily weighed down to move an inch.

"You think I would be able to see you on the news like that and not tell your mother? They were on the first express flight straight to Vale. No stops, just a 12-hour flight with barely any time to pack. Even Sapprhon managed to make it. You'd better make it up to them." His father explained.

"Yeah, you'd better make it up to us." His two twin sisters Coral and Sabel simultaneously parroted.

"That's enough girls, let your brother up." Jaune craned his neck to look towards that familiar voice. "It's good to see you again Jaune."

"It's good to see you too, Mom," Jaune admitted. "But what are you all doing here? I mean… Is it okay for you all to just fly over like this? It must have cost a fortune."

"Give your old man some credit. I've been a huntsman for over two decades. I can afford this much." Nicholas stated.

"Besides, my little brother is 'The Vanguard of the Breach'. How could we not come to visit?" His older sister Sapphron teased.

"Are you going to win the tournament Jaune?" His younger sister lavender whispered, pulling on his arm.

Jaune looked between his family members as they all waited for a response. It was his father who gave one.

"Of course he is girls. Do you know why?"

"Because Big Brother is the coolest!" Amber shouted.

"Because he is too stupid to give up?" Jade asked, bonking him on the head with her fist.

"Because he is sleeping with the champ," Coral stated.

"Coral!" His mother chided.

"She's technically right…" his father muttered under his breath. His mother gasped as if she'd been burned by hearing that. "No girls, the reason why Jaune is going to win, is because we are all here to make sure he does."

"They're what?" Jaune asked.

"Starting today and for the next two weeks, you will be training with us. We're going to pound into you all the lessons we couldn't while you were still classless. I hope you're ready." His father explained.

Each of his sisters had a glint in their eyes. He didn't like the look of it.

"Girls, go get your gear ready for when you're called up. Your father and I are going to have a chat with your brother," Juniper ordered.

"'Kay!" they each responded, rushing off.

"You're going to train me? For the tournament?" Jaune asked.

"Not for the tournament alone. We were so worried about you this last year. As much as we'd all love to have you back home, we know that's not going to happen. You've already accomplished so much, oh, we're so proud Jaune!" his mother cooed.

"What your mother is trying to say, is that we want to give you what we couldn't give you all those years. We want to give you the tools to forge your destiny, not just to win a competition. Your mother, your sisters, and I are all in agreement on this." His father added.

They both looked so determined, so happy. Who was Jaune to deny them this?

"Let's get started!"

**/-/**

His father was a Hunter. Not just by trade, but that was his class too.

Just like professor Port, his father had dedicated his life to the slaughter of Grimm. Hunters gained an uncanny sense of how to exterminate their chosen enemy. But that didn't mean that they didn't know how to fight other creatures too.

Jaune's father wielded a sword if it could still be called that. Roughly the same length as Crocea Mors, but several inches thick and made of black metal.

"It's very hard to find a sword as heavy as Crocea Mors. This metal is dense, but even then, I needed a lot of it to use my regular fighting style." His father explained as he saw Jaune ogling the blade.

"I can see that," Jaune responded.

"I'm going to be your first opponent. You might be better than you used to be, but we need to see just how much better. Use everything you've got Jaune, don't hold back." His father ordered.

Jaune never had any plans to. He had always been in awe of his father's strength. He idolized him. There was no chance he would underestimate his father or try to use anything less than his best.

On the sidelines, his 7 sisters and his mother sat and watched. It was like having eight personal cheerleaders.

"Kick his ass dad!"

"Bury him!"

"Make him suffer!"

On second thought, it was like have eight cheerleaders all working for the other side.

"To be clear, the goal is to show you what I've got right? Not to 'win' or 'survive'." Jaune asked.

His father nodded.

"Right… well, here I come then."

Jaune activated his aura awareness. He observed the white aura that burned within his father. It was brighter than most people's aura when active, and by the looks, he wasn't even using it yet.

Drawing forth his aura, Jaune supercharged his muscles to their limit. Allocating the rest of his aura to his shield, Jaune drew Crocea Mors and began to slowly close the distance.

"Look at that honey! Our boy has some skill with his aura!" his mother shouted.

Jaune looked over at his mother, and he saw for the second time something new.

Compared to his father, his mother's aura was duller. It appeared as bright as the ordinary persons did when they weren't using it. The difference though, was that even while inactive, it filled her entire body to the brim. It was as if she had more aura than her body knew what to do with.

"What the hell is with your and Mom's aura?" Jaune asked.

"I'll tell you after. Focus on the fight." His father sternly replied.

_Right…_

Jaune had no idea what he was working with when it came to his father's real potential. So Jaune decided to pass on the planning and scheming and try to learn instead.

Jaune kicked off the ground, clearing the space between them in an instant. With both hands, he brought the now heavier Crocea Mors down atop his father's head. In a straight-up match of strength, this was the strongest possible move. He had the advantage of gravity, while his father had to fight gravity from an awkward angle.

"Please…" his father muttered.

Jaune's attack wasn't just stopped. It was blown away. His father had swung his weapon in an upward arc with a single arm, colliding with Jaune's strike. The vibrations alone left Jaune's arms numb, but the force launched his body backward.

"Tell me you didn't get this far with that level of skill." His father taunted.

Against strength like that his shield was pointless. His father could blow through his guard and break his arm without breaking a sweat. Jaune shook off the numbness in his arms and prepared for the second attempt.

If he was certain to lose a test of strength, then perhaps speed was the way to go.

Jaune dashed in head-on again, using his willpower to feint another head-on attack. In the last second before contact, Jaune ducked down low and tried to slip behind his father. Jaune spun around as fast as he could to take advantage of his father's temporary blind spot.

But he was looking right at him.

_I must have been too slow once I got behind him. One more time._

Jaune tried to circle behind his father once more. This time he used Pyrrha's more advanced footwork rather than pure speed. Jaune took his father's flank and began to swing at what he thought was a clear shot.

But then his father just about disappeared.

He had moved like a blur. He was faster than Pyrrha easily. Not as fast as Oz though, whose Semblance was some kind of speed or acceleration power.

His father's boot found itself planted in his backside, launching him away once more.

"That didn't work either. What's next?" His father asked.

Speed and power had failed, time for a bit of trickery.

Jaune collected himself and went through the motions of dusting himself off. He turned and strode straight toward his father, sword loosely at his side.

He made it into both his range and his father's without a response. The older man just watching with a hint of disinterest.

Jaune twitched his blade and fired his will up. It was primitive as far as feints go, but his father took the bait regardless.

A slash that would have intercepted his own come downward from Jaune's left. Jaune dodged into it, once more trying to take his father's back.

Jaune managed to get into position a fraction of a second before his father finished his swing. Jaune launched his retaliation at his father's legs.

Then, all of a sudden there was a boom and an explosion of dust that left Jaune blinded. His father had followed through and cleaved the very earth. The force of his blow throwing dirt and sand into the air.

His father still wasn't using his aura, so Jaune had no way of seeing his precise movements. Fortunately, he could keep track of the man's position.

Jaune slashed at where he believed his father's chest was and struck steel as the man blocked him once more.

"At least you've learned how to fight witho-"

Jaune preyed on his father's speech and with his new gauntlets, slugged his father right in his open mouth.

The impact felt like he was striking a brick wall. Incredibly tough and it hadn't moved an inch. His father had activated his aura shield to absorb the force of his punch.

Jaune didn't let that stop him though. He loosed another slash with his sword and followed it with a kick to the groin. It was stopped just short by his father's free hand.

"A cheap shot followed by a groin attack?" his father asked. He almost sounded impressed.

Nothing Jaune was trying was working. His father was stronger and faster. His counters weren't working, and the hit that he did land didn't even seem to phase him.

"I suppose the only other thing to test is how well you can take a hit. You better don that shield." His father advised.

The tone in his voice told Jaune that he wasn't merely taunting him. Jaune instantly jumped backward, away from the dust cloud, and donned his shield.

For the first time during their match, his father held his blade with both hands.

"Block this, and you're done. Ready…"

His father dashed into range and swung.

"Or not!" He shouted.

Jaune caught the attack with this shield but as his guard caved, he felt the impact through his whole body. He dug his feet into the ground and lowered his center of gravity as much as he could. Trying to absorb the force and avoid being sent flying. With the slight angle on his shield and his lowered center of gravity, the attack slid towards his head. Jaune pushed one final time, trying to fight the overbearing strength of the attack. He brought his sword up underneath the blow and pushed it just above his head as he ducked.

Jaune collapsed from the strain and the release of tension one second later.

"What do you think dear? Somewhere between Jade and Hazel?" his father casually asked as Jaune lay panting on the ground.

"Maybe Coral if she doesn't get serious?" his mother replied.

"Not even then," Coral responded.

"Whatever the case, you should be proud Jaune. You've come a long way." His father praised.

"But I didn't land a hit, I wasn't even close!" Jaune refuted.

"Of course you didn't. You're 17 years old. I've been killing Grimm longer than you've been alive. You weren't supposed to win, just show me what you had. You did well. Take five minutes with your mother, then your training can really start." Nicholas stated.

Jaune sat down with his mother as asked, but he had no clue what kind of training that had planned for him. That last attack had completely shot his aura. It would take a few hours to recharge.

Or that's what he'd thought at least. He had been looking at his scroll to confirm how low he had gotten. When all of a sudden he felt a warmth, and the meter on his screen began to move. Within seconds he was back to full aura.

"Is that better sweetie?" his mother asked.

"Was that you?" Jaune asked.

"We decided not to talk much about our Semblances or aura when you were around. We didn't want to make you jealous before you could unlock yours. My Semblance is Charge. I can share my aura with others, charging their batteries so to speak. It's always been very helpful when it came to training you kids. The enlarged reserves that came with it were always useful too, though you know about that I suppose. 30 points, that's quite a lot." His mother praised.

"Wait… So how often can you do this?" Jaune asked.

"For you with your capacity, three times in a row. But I could pull it off roughly once an hour if I meditate." His mother explained.

"Mom, that's awesome!" said Jaune.

Juniper flexed her bicep at her son with a proud smile. "Your mommy has always been cool Jaune, don't you forget it this time."

"Juniper dear, help Jaune weight up his sword! Jaune, I want you to make that sword 'just a little too heavy'. Find your comfortable limit and go just a bit beyond that." Nicholas shouted out.

Jaune did as asked and slowly channeled his aura into the blade while his mother kept him charged. Every few seconds he would give the blade a few test swings. After draining his aura twice over, it finally felt heavy enough to be just out of his comfort zone. If he used muscle augmentation, it would be fine. Right now though he could feel it taking a decent amount of effort to control.

"Good, now get over here and repeat after me!" his father ordered.

What followed was a series of movements, like the ones that Pyrrha had taught him, but different too.

They didn't focus on flow or efficiency. Rather they seemed to focus on simulating every movement he could make with the blade.

"This pattern of movements will become your bread and butter. If you fail to complete a task I set, you will repeat this for an hour. If you find yourself with spare time, you will repeat this for an hour. If your sword feels too light, you will make it heavier and then you will repeat this for an hour. This pattern has been refined over decades to train every muscle needed for fighting. All while adapting your body to your blade's weight in as little time as possible." His father explained.

Jaune nodded and continued moving through the steps. What was interesting was that he could feel muscles burning that he had never even known he had before. Muscles that were normally redundant were now being used to control the descent of the blade. Back muscles underneath his back muscles strained to lift it back up.

"Good. Now… Amber, your brother wants to play tag!" his father shouted.

"Yay!" Amber cheered as she ran over.

"What?" Jaune asked, stupefied by the sudden change of pace.

"There is a circle drawn around our camp in the dirt. Neither you nor your sister is allowed to cross it. If you're 'it' after 20 minutes, you'll be drilling those movements until you puke or pass out. Whichever comes first." His father stated.

"We're going to have so much fun Jaune! I've gotten really good at tag, even Saphron thinks so!" His youngest sister excitedly explained.

"Amber is 'it'. Your twenty minutes starts now!" Nicholas shouted.

His sister didn't disappear as such, her speed wasn't as extreme as her father's. But Jaune had barely blinked before she was already halfway on him.

Jaune kicked backward as hard as he could and turned to run. By the time he showed his sister his back, she had tagged him.

Jaune's hand lashed backward to try and tag her back, only to find she was already bouncing back out of reach.

"Catch me if you can!" Amber teased, pulling her eyelid down and sticking her tongue out at Jaune.

_They never said aura wasn't allowed._

Jaune boosted his dexterity and began to race after his sister. He was faster than she was in terms of pure speed and he was catching up to her steadily. But now and then she would cut a tight corner around a tree and set him back to square one. Jaune had to slow down and turn to follow her.

"Too slow! Too slow!" His younger sister mocked, slapping her butt.

"What the hell have you been teaching her!" Jaune complained loudly.

"15 minutes." Was his father's dry response.

_Shit. Okay, think. There has to be a reason for this training, I doubt we would just be playing tag for no reason._

Jaune chased after his sister, with increased fervor. Once again she seemed to turn on a dime.

_How is she doing that? Is it because of her Acrobat Class? A movement skill?_

Two or three more times she pulled off the same trick, only using it when Jaune gets too close for her liking. The endless taunts were getting frustrating, especially when he kept gaining on her only to lose it.

"10 minutes." His father shouted.

Jaune activated his aura awareness, hoping to catch some trick.

Closing the distance once more, he finally saw something. The tiniest layer of aura was visible on the sole of her foot.

Jaune stopped chasing his sister to process what he had just seen. It was an aura skill, but it wasn't a 'technique' so to speak. It seemed like it was just pure aura control.

"I can do that." Jaune confidently stated. "Aura control has been one of my focuses this year."

Jaune took a few practice attempts in shaping his aura. His sister slowly approached closer, trying to provoke him into chasing her once more.

When he thought he had it, he dashed for his sister. She instantly pushed herself backward. Jaune steadily closed the distance between them.

He could see her slightly veering toward a tree, and he knew that she was about to do it.

Amber zipped around the tree and Jaune was right behind her. He channeled the aura and kicked off with it, turning his body and feet preemptively.

His foot hit the ground with even greater force than usual, crushing the ground beneath him. Unfortunately, the rest of his body maintained its velocity. Jaune's ankle caved and he spun out, crashing into the dirt at his high speed. He skidded several meters before rolling into a tree and finally coming to a stop.

"'Aura control has been one of my focuses this year.'" His sister Coral mimicked his voice from nearby. "Shame you're still a total klutz though."

It seemed she found his fall a lot funnier than he did. She always did enjoy seeing people hurt themselves by being stupid.

"Shut up Coral!" Jaune shouted back in embarrassment. He really shouldn't have tried to act cocky as he did.

"I give! You win Amber, you're way too fast for me." Jaune admitted.

"You know the punishment Jaune." His father responded.

Jaune drew his sword and got to work.

**/-/**

Jaune washed his mouth out with water, trying to rid himself of the taste of his vomit. His father watched from nearby while his sisters were all lounging around. The river near their camp was perfect under the midday sun. Meanwhile, his mother rubbed his back comfortingly.

"If you're going to make me do that again, you need to teach me more about aura first," Jaune stated. "I've been stuck trying to learn aura emission."

"Don't worry honey, Nicky was the same. His Semblance is compression, super-dense aura." His mother said, trying to ease his concerns.

"You both have aura related Semblances…" said Jaune. "You guys act like you're experts on the subject. So why was it so out of question to just unlock mine?"

His mother and father shared a look and didn't say anything for a while. Finally, his father spoke up.

"It's exactly because of our Semblances that we didn't want to unlock yours before you were ready." His father explained.

"Because of the Grimm? Not having aura doesn't keep people safe, Dad. There are plenty of people back in Vale who can attest to that." Jaune's voice was getting louder.

This was an issue he thought he had moved on from. It had been dug up with all the focus on aura from the same people who refused to unlock his. He couldn't help being frustrated or wanting a better answer.

"Listen… You're right. You said your class unlocked because your stat average broke 20, right? With your aura, we could have saved you a few years. You could’ve gone to a huntsmen prep school and trained with your peers. We didn’t know until now, but you can blame us for taking that from you. But if you’re going to blame us, at least do it knowing we only had the best of intentions.”

His father began to lift his shirt over his head. Jaune at that moment realized he hadn't seen his father shirtless, not once. Because if he had, he'd have remembered what he could now see.

His father's abdomen was gouged. Three identical scars ran across his stomach, half an inch deep at least and pale white.

"When I was a boy just after I officially entered a huntsman school, I had my aura unlocked. Denser than everyone else's, I was like a beacon for the Grimm. I had my class, and aura, and a weapon. But that didn't make me invincible. This wound could have killed me. It did kill my team who fought while trying to save me. I know more than anyone what the risks of aura were and I didn’t want that for you or your sisters. But I knew what you were like so I compromised for your sake. I spent a decade training you. I turned you into someone who even without aura could have defended himself against the odd Beowolf or two. And that’s all I wanted for you. I wanted my son to be strong enough to stay alive. I wanted you to be strong enough that you wouldn’t have to live with the regret of someone trading their life for yours." His father explained, pulling his shirt back on to hide the scars.

Jaune sighed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. And you're right, I guess. No amount of aura, training, or backup can guarantee that anyone will be safe from danger. I just… wish things had gone differently." Jaune apologized.

His mother hugged him.

"We understand Jaune. You had a… disappointing childhood in many ways. You're allowed to be upset." She said.

"It's our job as parents to try our best to prepare you for your future. The decision to unlock your aura would have been the right one. We know that now, but at the time it was a gamble we weren’t willing to take. All we can do is try to make up for it. June, charge his aura. We're going to teach our son to emit his aura or our last name isn't Arc." His father boldly declared.

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 14 [+3]**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 23 (57) [+2]**

**Fortitude: 26 (65) [+3]**

**Dexterity: 16 (40)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**  
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Construction: Level 0]** **  
**Reduced mistakes when performing construction or repair jobs.  
An innate understanding of structures comes with skill level.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**  
Double all base attributes.  
Able to unlock all skills through training.  
No benefits from leveling.

 **?**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.

 **[Aura Control: Level 5]**  
Able to feel and manipulate aura.  
All stats increased by 25%  
All Aura abilities are 50% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 4]**  
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 14(21) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 4]**  
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 14(21) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.  
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.  
Recovery speed is equal to +150(225)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 4]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura. Additionally, within the same radius, you can observe aura in all creatures that have it.  
Precision: Low.  
Maximum Radius: 100(150) cm.  
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter when using aura.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 4]**  
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 14(21) % per aura point used.  
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.  
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 1.9xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 7]**  
Aura Recovery Rate +170% while meditating.  
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 8] (Passive)** **  
**Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 9] (Passive)**  
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 90%  
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 9%  
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 45%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 7] (Passive)** **  
**Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 70%  
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 35%

 **[Hand to Hand Skill: Level 4] (Passive)** **  
**Increase damage with all unarmed attacks by 20%  
Increase hit rate with all unarmed attacks by 4%  
Increase unarmed defense efficiency by 20%

 **[Willpower: Level 1]** **  
**Force your will onto others through your aura.  
Can simulate emotion or even cause a variety of mental conditions in the target.  
Use of this skill is also the defense against this skill.

 **[Heavy Strike]**  
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon's weight.  
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon's weight.  
Cooldown 1 second.  
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**  
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.  
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.  
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.  
Current damage increase: 20%  
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de grâce!]** **  
**A finishing blow to an injured opponent.  
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.  
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.  
Cooldown 3 seconds.  
Recharge 60 seconds.


	35. Training Arc II

“Sapphron, if you would.” Jaune’s father requested.

His sister was wearing her combat gear. Full plate mail from shoulder to toe with a tower shield and a lance the length of her body.

She was a perfect picture of a knight and Jaune’s inspiration growing up. She was why he wanted to wear armor like he did, unlike his parents who focused on mobility rather than defense.

“Ready,” Sapphron replied, holding her shield ready.

Nicholas slammed into her shield with a one-handed swing of his sword that sounded like a gong being hit. Her shield hadn’t even budged an inch.

“Jaune, when it comes to your aura, you have to remember not to force it. Understanding is important. Knowing precisely how you want it to move, what shape you want it, and what properties it needs to have helps. But aura is not a muscle or a tool that we use. It is a part of us that acts according to our desires.” His older sister explained.

Jaune nodded in understanding, he had been taught as much on his very first day with Pyrrha.

“When I use my Semblance, I don’t think about pushing my aura. I don’t think about muffling the force of Dad’s strike. I just let it happen. I want to stop his blow without getting hurt in the process.” Sapphron continued.

A shockwave exploded from her shield and crashed into a tree, leaving a dent at least 10cm deep.

“When I want to release the energy I don’t think about separating my aura and directing the force. I just want to get some payback. How it feels for you is most important. Especially without the system to help you.” She added.

“I get that, but what am I supposed to ‘want’ to do that?” Jaune asked.

“Maybe ‘want’ is a bit too literal. Just try to cut me with your aura.” She replied.

Jaune took a step toward her and began to draw his sword.

“Ah-ah! Try to cut me with your aura... from right there.” She corrected. “Jade, hold his legs for us will you?”

His younger sister ran up and placed a hand on his thigh.

“Sorry.” She quickly apologized before running back.

It had been quick, taking only the second of her hand being on his leg to pull it off. His entire lower body was encased in a thick coating of green crystal.

“You’ve gotten faster at that.” Jaune complimented.

When she had been younger, covering her finger in crystal had been a dramatic event. One that involved a lot of panicking and crying and a lot of time to resolve.

His sister nodded once before pulling her knees up into her chest and tucking them into her hoodie.

_Still as shy as ever though._

“Okay so now I just... cut you I guess?” Jaune asked.

“Yep. And you’re staying there until you do.” Sapphron responded, leaning on her shield and pulling out her scroll.

Jaune drew his sword, which fortunately been left unsealed.

_I’ve just got to want it. Charge up the aura and swing._

Jaune did exactly that. He packed more aura than he could ever need into his blade and swung hard enough to make an audible ‘swish’.

“Not like that. You need more ‘oomph’, put some more ‘kapow’ into it.” His father advised.

“No, he doesn’t need ‘kapow’, he needs to make the blade go ‘Brrr’.” His mother corrected.

“It’s more of a ‘pow!’ isn’t it?” Sapphron asked.

Jaune had no idea what they were saying. Was it a foreign language? They all certainly seemed to understand exactly what they each meant, leaving him the odd one out.

Jaune tried to ignore them and swung again.

**/-/**

Minutes turned to hours, and it turned out that they hadn’t been kidding when they said he wasn’t moving from his spot.

Sapphron had gotten bored waiting for him to work it out after half an hour. She entertained herself by poking Jaune with her lance. Taunting him by saying ‘if you want me to stop then just cut me already’.

Now though, his whole family just sat eating their dinner right in front of him. Worse still was the fire they used to cook with.

“Could you guys do that somewhere else?” Jaune begged.

“We’re just eating. If you want some you can-”

“Yeah yeah, 'from right here'. I don’t care about the food, I meant that!” Jaune pointed at the fire with his sword, interrupting his sister.

His father nodded understandingly.

“You did say you had some sort of issue with fire, didn’t you. Unfortunately, it’s a very cold night tonight. I don’t think any of us could be convinced to put it out. Though if you wanted to...” His father trailed off.

Jaune realized it was entirely intentional. His family had even left a perfect gap for him to aim for where none of his family was in the road. Sapphron and Nicholas both took the vanguard, ready to field off any wayward attacks.

“Kind of heartless isn’t it?” Jaune tried to appeal to his father’s emotions.

Nicholas took a bite of his dinner. “I prefer pragmatic.”

_Damn it._

Jaune’s stomach rumbled and he gave a frustrated sigh and released all tension in his body. He could hardly move with his legs locked up. As a result going slack merely resulted in his back and neck rolling backward, pointing his gaze to the sky.

The moon was in its partial phase. Half of the shattered side and half of its clean unbroken side showed in even amounts. The combination displayed a crescent shape, not unlike his family crest.

The Arc family shared a lot of symbolism with the moon, though not by intention. Supposedly the Arcs were supposed to represent rainbows. Jaune always thought their crest looked like the slashes of a blade that was moving fast enough to blur.

Jaune soon grew bored with looking at the sky. It wasn’t exactly comfortable in his current position. He stood back up at retook his ‘stance’ if it could be called that without legs.

He charged his aura up once more and swung again.

Unlike all the other times a thin streak of white trailed behind the tip of his blade.

In his surprise, he nearly missed the way his father flicked his attention towards him.

_Was that... it?_

Jaune swung again but nothing happened.

_Shit, what was I doing differently?_

_I charged my aura, I swung... I was picturing the moon, the arc of a blade! I wanted my blade to leave a trail and my aura must have filled the blanks._

Jaune tried again, keeping that image in the forefront of his mind and swung once more. The thin trail generated from the entire back edge of his sword this time. It stayed in place, where the blade had been until the end of the swing, where it slowly followed its trajectory. The aura didn’t re-enter his body or blade though, instead, it just faded away.

_That’s it! It was separate from my aura, disconnected._

_This time for sure then... I’ll swing..._

Jaune swung his sword once more, the aura shining behind his blade.

_Then release!_

Jaune threw his sword.

He hadn’t meant to throw his sword, but in trying to trick his aura he had gotten his wires crossed.

Crocea Mors and its white aura tail spun through the air until it landed point first in the campfire.

Coral openly laughed in his face while his father sighed.

“That doesn’t count and you know it,” said Nicholas as he pulled the blade out and tossed it back at him.

Jaune barely managed to catch it with his body trapped like it was.

“I know! It wasn't on purpose.” Jaune replied.

_I’ll get it this time. It’s not ‘release’. It’s more a... It’s like..._

_It’s like a whip. You swing the handle and the rest lags. The length of my blade is a few feet, but my aura reaches much further. A ‘swish’ and a ‘crack’._

_..._

_Oh no, I sound just like them._

Jaune shook himself off and lifted his sword. He could process the fact that his family wasn't as insane as he'd thought later.

_Swish._

He swung.

_And crack._

He pulled back on his aura like you would pull back on a whip.

The trail of aura behind his sword separated from what he held in the blade. With nothing attached to it, it followed the path it had already been set on.

Shaped like a bright white crescent moon, Jaune’s aura sped forwards. It grew taller and thinner as it traveled before finally dissipating as it ran out of steam.

You have unlocked the **[Aura Emission]** Skill.

 **[Aura Emission: Level 0]**   
Disconnect your aura from its source and project it outwards.   
Aura Emission techniques cost 100% more aura.   
Aura Emission techniques weaken over distance. 10% reduction over 1(1.5) meters.

“Alright!” Jaune shouted. “Now get me out of here, I’m starving.”

His father got up, as did Jade, but Nicholas held her back.

“One more time, just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.” Nicholas requested.

_Forget one time, I want out of this cage._

Jaune swung twice in quick succession, emitting his aura with each. A cross-shaped aura attack flew toward his father before fizzling out before his feet. Connecting with the system as a real skill had merged his aura emission with his aura control skill. Instantly, five meters was added to its maximum range.

“Want to let me out now?” Jaune asked impatiently.

His father nodded and gave Jade a little push. She waved her hands and the crystal cracked right down the middle. Two separate pieces fell either side of his legs.

She was barely any older than Jaune, not even a full year, but already had such good control over her Semblance. Frankly, it was impressive, especially for the girl who had decided she didn’t want to be a huntress. There were students at Beacon who didn’t even have their Semblance, Jaune being a perfect example.

Too hungry to spare time on a compliment though, Jaune raced in to grab his share of the food.

He got 3 paces away before he realized that it was still sitting on the grill above the campfire. The campfire that was now much closer and larger than any fire he’d tried to train with in a while.

“Lavender honey, would you help Jaune calm down, please? Try the one you use when you go to sleep.” His mother softly requested from his peripheral. His heavy breathing and the sudden stop had given away his internal struggle.

His sister got up and covered his mouth and nose with her hand.

“What are you doing?” he mumbled.

“Breathe in please.” Lavender politely requested.

Jaune did as instructed, the scent of chamomile and lavender filled his nostrils. An intense feeling of calm washed over his body, his entire being. At least for now, the sight of the fire was not an issue. Any trace of tension in his body just faded away.

“Any emotions I related to a scent, I can simulate in others by making them smell it. You wouldn’t believe how much tea I’ve had to drink and how many flowers I’ve had to sniff to get it this good. I’ve got a bouquet of this stuff in every pillow I own back home.” His sister added.

“It’s… It’s good. Normally only my partner can calm me down when I start to… react.” Jaune responded.

“How does she do that? Is her Semblance some kind of emotion control too? No one knows what her Semblance is since she never uses it in a fight.” His sister Hazel asked. She did always share an interest in huntsmen as he did.

“No she doesn’t use a Semblance, she just usually-” Jaune stopped himself a second too late. He’d said it now and they all noticed his reaction, they wouldn’t leave him alone if he didn’t say it now. “She usually just kisses me.”

“Oh my little boy is growing up!” his mother cooed.

“Gross, Yuck!” Amber squealed.

“Does she taste as good as she looks?” Coral asked with a lecherous smirk.

“Coral!” his mother chastised.

“Does she though?” Sapphron also asked, less lecherously and more genuinely interested.

“I’m not answering that,” Jaune replied, ignoring his sister’s visible disappointment. “But it does usually do the trick of taking my mind off things. It brings me back to reality long enough for me to get control of myself again.”

“That’s a yes.” Coral jeered.

Jaune just sighed and focused on his meal. He’d forgotten how exhausting it could be to hang out with his sisters.

After dinner, his family headed to sleep. Despite the day of training, he wasn't that tired just yet.

When he was certain everybody was asleep, he snuck out into the forest to continue his training.

As excited as he had been when he had finally pulled off the technique, he had noticed one fairly obvious flaw. While it was able to travel over a distance, its actual stopping power was weak. He couldn’t even recall if his aura had displaced the dirt it made contact with. Instead, he was pretty sure it dissipated upon contact.

He had the technique, but no strength behind it.

That changed now.

Jaune propped himself up into a handstand, something he didn’t know he could do until he tried it. His bodyweight would have to do for resistance for now. Pushing around other objects would be too loud.

With a fraction of his aura, half a point at most, he tried to push himself away from the ground.

He didn’t even leave the ground.

After several hours of training and recovering his aura, Jaune finally went to bed. He had managed to earn himself an inch from his training. In terms of cutting power, it was probably equal to a toddler with a stick. But it was still better than the stiff breeze he had started with.

**/-/**

“Get up!” His father shouted, waking Jaune up. “You’ve gotten too used to sleeping in. You’re wasting daylight when you could be training!”

Jaune blamed Ren for that. The boy enjoyed his sleep and as the resident chef, he got what he wanted. Naturally, if Ren was sleeping in, they all were.

“I’m up. I’m up...” Jaune mumbled as he unzipped the sleeping bag.

“Good. Go do 10 laps around the campsite and then drill your sword kata 20 times. The faster you get it done, the faster you can eat breakfast. Oh, and wear your armor. No point otherwise.” His father ordered.

Jaune grumbled but complied.

The laps brought him through a variety of terrains some less stable than others. Gravel and mud were particularly annoying to navigate. The hills too were frustrating. How his father had managed to pick such a difficult track on his first attempt, Jaune didn’t know.

When he finished his 9th lap his father was standing nearby with a stopwatch observing.

“Finish this lap in under 2 minutes or you’re doing 10 more.” His father loudly declared.

Jaune upped the pace. It was almost fifty percent faster than what he’d achieved on his first lap.

Suddenly the mud and gravel were much more dangerous than simply ‘annoying’. His feet gave way occasionally, sending him rolling through the muck. By the time he finished, he was caked from head to toe in mud and leaves. For all his efforts he had still been 15 seconds too slow.

Ten punishing laps later, Jaune went through the motions of his sword training. He forced himself to ignore the growing ache in his stomach that was his hunger.

“Jaune! You’re covered in filth, you can’t train like that! Go clean yourself up and start over!”

Cursing under his breath he headed to the small river and washed out his clothes and cleaned his armor. Of course, his father had chosen the last set to make him start over.

When he came back, his mother was waiting for him.

“Your father said you were complaining about your sword being too light.”

_I wasn’t but whatever, I already know where this is going._

“So I’m just going to help you add a bit of weight. He said ‘just a little more than uncomfortable’.” His mother explained.

Jaune pumped aura until the blade had doubled from its initial weight. With a few practice swings, he could tell that his swings would be slightly slower to accelerate. Due to only being able to apply so much force to his sword, his damage would probably remain the same. The peak momentum of his swings would be greater though. This was likely the secret behind the previous owners of Crocea Mors being able to blow through their enemy’s defense.

With his sword finally meeting his father’s conditions, Jaune completed his set tasks. The entire ordeal had taken nearly three hours instead of the barely one it would have taken.

After his well-earned meal, his mother took him aside to drill his aura emission. It was simple repetition to improve the efficiency of the aura slash. Using as little aura as possible he had to generate enough cutting force to break through a tree branch. When he ran out of aura, he would return to his mother who would give him a refill. Only when both he and his mother had both run out of aura would he finally be allowed to stop. With the huge reserve of aura available, it was well over 400 swings and half an hour of training before he was done. The training served to further abuse his muscles as well as train his aura control.

To Jaune’s surprise, after the aura training, it was right back to running. When his legs felt like jelly he was sent back to practicing his kata. And whenever his mother’s aura had recharged, it was another half hour of aura training.

And that was the only training he was allowed to do.

“Good job today Jaune. Tomorrow let’s see if you can’t beat those times.” Was all his father said.

And the next day, he had been forced to beat 2 minutes before he was allowed to eat breakfast.

His father had appeared on the 9th lap as before. This time though, he joined him, setting the pace he needed to match by running it himself.

As they ran, Jaune searched for some trick that his father was using to run as quickly and effortlessly as he was. He refused to believe this was just dexterity and fortitude training.

Jaune activated his aura vision. Sure enough, his father was coating the soles of his feet with aura just like his sister had.

Since he wasn't planning on making any sudden turns, Jaune emulated the technique once more. His aura compacted the soil under his footsteps, giving him a firmer surface to kick off of. Additionally, the aura seeped into the ground when his foot made contact. His aura seemed to create a deeper connection and increased friction.

The two in combination made it easier to generate more speed by kicking off of the ground with more force. Jaune almost instantly managed to catch up to his father.

“Took you long enough to work it out. You already tried it once with your sister, I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about it.” His father said with a smile. “Your aura increases the amount of time you make contact with the ground, stabilizing you. With sufficient control, you can run on any surface. Even ice or vertical walls can become useable terrain.”

His father slightly increased the pace.

“Now that you’ve got the technique, all you need is to practice it on a variety of terrains. Over time you can increase the speed and difficulty of your route. For speed, don’t think of it as lifting your leg away from the ground while staying in contact with the other. Kick the earth with all your strength.” His father instructed.

Jaune didn’t use all his strength, but he did try to kick off with every step. Instantly he saw a vast improvement in his speed. His stride length increased the harder that he kicked. It got to the point where he was covering two meters with every step. The rush that came with moving at that sort of speed was exhilarating.

Right up until he hit a gravel patch and his footing gave way.

“Different terrain, different levels of aura.” His father laughed. “Use too much aura and you’ll crush your footing and make it more uneven. Not enough aura and you just won’t generate enough grip to maintain your pace.”

You have unlocked the **[Aura Step]** Skill.

 **[Aura Step: Level 0]**   
Channel aura into a surface to generate increased friction and force.   
Error margin: 10%

Jaune pulled himself back up to his feet and brushed off the dirt that covered him.

“That’s what this training is about. Developing aura control to maintain stability on any surface. Training the motor skills to optimize your center of gravity at all times. And of course, increasing the speed at which you can move. If you master this, it’s an invaluable tool in combat.” His father explained.

Jaune nodded and began to get back to running. Unlike how he felt earlier, he was suddenly very motivated to make the most of this training.

Over the next few days, his skill and speed increased. As it did, Jaune soon found his running track littered with obstacles. Jaune was forced to get used to lateral and vertical movement or miss out on meals. Markers were set up like a miniature slalom course. Hurdles of differing heights were put out that he had to go over and under. Small stumps were placed around as stepping stones. With each day, the frequency and difficulty of obstacles grew. At the same time, the time he had to complete his laps in shrunk.

By training both his aura step and aura emission day in and day out, his aura control had grown with it. His aura slashes were no longer just crescent-shaped discharges of force with a blunted edge. They had been refined and transformed into sickles. Their edge constantly moved, like a razor-sharp chainsaw. They were capable of cutting through firewood cleanly even at a distance.

His base stats had also grown substantially from the focused efforts. 13 days of sprinting and weightlifting was a hardcore training regimen after all.

The only thing that remained was to put his new skills to use in real combat to cement them into his fighting style.

Which is why his father’s suggestion on the 14th day had only come as a partial surprise.

“No laps today. Get your gear on and come join us for breakfast.”

Jaune quickly got ready and ran out to find his whole family in combat gear.

“Have as much as you want to eat, but I wouldn’t recommend having too much. You’re only going to lose it anyway.” His father stated.

Jaune grabbed a few pieces of bacon and some eggs and placed them on his plate.

“Why is everyone in their combat gear?” Jaune asked.

“Because we’ll all be fighting today.” He held a hand up to cut off Jaune’s next question. “We’ll all be fighting you.”

“Is that necessary?” Jaune asked, putting down his still full plate of food. He was beginning to see why he shouldn’t bother eating.

“Necessary? Probably not. But it’s happening anyway. That partner of yours is going to be stronger than all of your sisters minus perhaps Sapphron. Combined. If you can’t beat them now, you should know that rather than go out and embarrass yourself on camera in front of the world.” His father explained.

Jaune frowned. He didn’t like how this sounded like an ultimatum of sorts. ‘Defeat your sisters or give up the tournament’. He knew exactly how strong his partner was, but a 7 on 1 fight being the minimum requirements seemed a bit steep. That he would then have to fight three trained professionals after was just a rotten cherry on top.

“Fine. Let’s get this out of the road then.” Jaune said, letting his frustration at how his family viewed his chances be made apparent.

“You heard him, girls. Amber, you’re up first.” His father ordered.

It made sense to send up his sisters in reverse order of age. What suddenly didn’t make sense was that he would be fighting his ten-year-old sister.

He didn’t have much of a chance to consider the situation before his father gave the command to start.

Jaune quickly decided he didn't want to hurt her. He was bound to be stronger and faster than her despite any training she might have received. Getting her to concede would be enough.

Jaune didn’t even draw his sword to deal with the small knives that his sister was wielding. Instead, he let his armor take the sharp edge and he grabbed her wrists. Using one of the moves Pyrrha had taught him, he pulled her into a hammerlock and gently threw his sister to the ground. As she fell he switched into a simple wrist lock, which he tightened until she squealed and tapped out. He instantly let her go.

“Lavender, go.” His father ordered.

His other younger sister had neither Semblance nor Class that was suited for combat. Still, as a seventeen-year-old with enough time to actually train, she'd have enough skill to pose a threat. He still didn't plan on drawing his weapon on her though.

With her twin sickles, she was a little bit more dangerous than her sister due to the added reach. It took a few attempts to properly grasp the hand that was wielding her lead weapon. When he did he gave her arm a strong pull, spinning his body as he did to step on the outside of her elbow. With a stomp he took out one of her knees, allowing him to drag her a few meters across the ground, stretching her out flat. With a hand on her wrist and a foot on the back of her neck, he had complete control over her.

_These grappling techniques are great for dealing with non-lethal threats. I’ll have to remember that if I ever find myself in this position against someone without aura._

His sister put up a struggle and tried to roll out of the grapple. With a twist and some extra force on her neck, she tapped.

Next came his sister Hazel. She was the only member of the family who wound up with a spell caster class. His parents had given her the best training they could and had been more than happy to fund her dust supply.

In truth, Hazel would be the first real challenge. While he had considered it a seven on one earlier, it was going to be more like a five on one, starting now.

Her Semblance, Bubble, allowed her to generate bubbles made from her aura. When he was younger, he had watched her train with it without telling anyone. It was one of his guilty pleasures when he needed a break from training. Her Semblance was particularly well suited for dust use too. It allowed her to create a minefield of dust practically at will.

Knowing that his older sisters were not to be underestimated, he finally drew his sword.

He could see his sister had several dust spells prepared and ready to fire. The more time he gave her, the more complicated she would be to deal with. So Jaune dashed straight toward the field of red, yellow, and blue bubbles.

He loosed an aura slash which collided with a strip of the bubbles. They ignited on contact, clearing a path. Jaune leaped through the multi-colored smoke that had been created. He dodged a spear of ice that he barely saw due to the aura that was stored within it. Jaune ducked a stream of fire and rolled away from the stalagmites that she created beneath him. Finally, he had managed to make it into his sister’s range.

For half a second he was in awe in how easily his new movement had allowed him to navigate that exchange. He'd watched Weiss fight many times before. She never spammed dust the way his sister does, even though she would be able to easily afford it. Despite that, he hadn't ever dreamed of performing as well against her as he was right now.

When his sister landed a bolt of lightning to his chest, his thoughts were dragged back to the present.

It had stung and stunned him for an instant, but the actual quantity of dust used and the total damage was limited. Like Weiss’ rapier or Ms. Goodwitch’s riding crop, his sister had a focus to channel her usage of dust in the form of a staff. To avoid dealing with more strikes like that, Jaune would have to deal with it. Fortunately, its length made it much easier to apply leverage and wrench it out of his sister’s hands.

A move that Hazel seemed more than prepared for.

While Jaune had successfully disarmed his sister, he had done so at the expense of taking a direct blow. A handful of primed gravity dust was forced into his ribcage by hand. The resulting explosion nearly knocked him back into the minefield.

That small trade had cost him a valuable chunk of his aura that he wouldn’t be getting back. Jaune decided it was time to stop avoiding it and start fighting his sisters with his sword properly.

Jaune tossed her staff like a javelin through the minefield behind him and took her out with a quick slash. Without her staff, she had no way to defend herself.

If the pattern was to remain consistent, his sister Jade was next. He remembered her Semblance was the creation of crystal out of aura, both hers and others. She had used it to lock up his lower body in a thick enough coating that he couldn’t move nor break out.

As a monk, she moved and fought similarly to Ren, and Jaune treated her no differently. Her ideal range was to be in such close-quarters that she was practically on top of him. Without a weapon like Ren’s Stormflower and with her smaller frame, that was too close for his sword.

The bulge of her muscles showed that she knew the muscle augmentation technique. She was using it to break her limits and exceed Jaune’s unboosted stats. With a set of steel bracers, she skillfully redirected Jaune’s sword and slipped into range. Before he could reposition and reset, she landed a glancing palm strike on his left shoulder.

Jaune tried to push her back as he retreated, only to realize he couldn’t move his arm more than a few inches. Jaune soon saw that she had turned the aura that he shielded her attack with into jade, locking up the joint. Without wasting any time, he cracked and removed the crystal with a strike from his sword’s pommel. She used the action to step back in and launch another attack, on target this time.

_If she is going to convert my aura, I just won’t use any. Her last attack was weak enough that I can tank it and then counter._

Jaune lifted his sword above his head, ready to bring it down atop hers when she committed to the strike.

A sharp pain shot through his abdomen like a hot knife was being dragged through his stomach.

Jade had already disengaged by the time he reacted. He was too distracted by the pain to maintain his regular speed and stop her. She had coated her fingers in jade and pierced his auraless torso. If the pain when he moved was any sign, she had likely transformed them after insertion. He could feel barbs that held them in place and ripped nearby tissue.

“It’s your turn to give up Jaune. You can’t fight with those inside you, it’ll tear you up.” His sister explained, dropping her stance.

“Who said anything about fighting with them inside?” Jaune loudly asked.

Grabbing the four jade crystals by the tips, Jaune pulled each of them free. The spikes turned the four wounds into one large tear in his abdomen that began freely bleeding.

He focused his aura recovery to speed it up, despite knowing that it would burn through his aura faster. A few minutes of healing and he could stem the bleeding if nothing else. A full recovery would require an hour at least.

His sister was slow to process the fact that he had just opened a gaping wound in his gut. During her stasis, Jaune activated his aura augmentation. With his full strength, he drove his shoulder into her chest, forcing the wind from her lungs. He followed up with a leaping slash that caught her on her way to the ground. From his position, he couldn’t force her to tap out. But with his sword pointed at her chest and her aura having taken a beating, she submitted.

An arrow whizzed past his head, causing Jaune to duck and hide behind a tree. He couldn’t have hoped for a better opponent right now.

He had seen and heard of Sabel’s Semblance a few times during his family’s extended camping trip. Several plates and bowls served too hot to eat with had prompted his sister to use hers in a fairly docile fashion.

She can transmute thermal, kinetic, and electrical energy that she was in contact with. Turning it into any of the other two types. It made her a great counter against blunt force and two of the major dust types. Against bladed weapons though, she could still take damage. A sharp edge with applied pressure didn't need speed. Additionally, as an archer, she would prefer to stay at a distance. So long as she wasn’t able to curve her shots somehow, Jaune could run and hide behind cover until his wound was healed.

For a few minutes, Jaune played this game of cat and mouse. But it was brought to an end by his father.

“Coral, get out there and help your sister.”

“Two at once?!” Jaune shouted.

“Ready or not, here I come little brother!” his sister jeered.

And then she was gone. No trace of her aura for him to keep track of and certainly no visual. She had simply disappeared.

Another arrow slammed into the tree bark beside him as he sprinted for new cover.

Jaune checked his wound to see that it had stopped bleeding save for the tiniest trickle.

Or at least it ‘had’ stopped.

His sister materialized in front of him out of nowhere, her fist planted in his wound, reopening it once more.

“You weren’t ready, were you?” she mocked.

Lifting her free hand to his head, she fired a wrist-mounted crossbow, scoring a clean blow on his temple. The impact sent him reeling.

Jaune slashed out at her to get her away from him, only to hit empty air.

Jaune scowled. His sister was hunting him down like it was nothing more than a game to her. Perhaps appropriately, since she had taken after his father in class.

That personality was all her though.

When an arrow found its mark in his leg, Jaune realized he couldn’t afford to fight two opponents at once like this. Especially when he was unsure of how to deal with his sister’s Semblance. Even worse was trying to do it while distracted.

Jaune, while continuing to try and heal his wound, sprinted at his top pace toward Sabel. Like Hazel before her, she would have difficulties if he got into her range.

Jaune struck the first arrow out of the sky, refusing to sacrifice his speed to dodge it. The second arrow was fired in a panic when Sabel realized he would be on her too soon. It went wide enough for him to duck it with ease. Jaune landed a full-power strike against his sister which she attempted to block with her bow. Her guard collapsed and her aura shattered from his blow but luckily she didn’t seem to be too injured.

“I don’t suppose you want to come out and fight me without being invisible? Up close and personal?” Jaune asked the forest around him.

Something struck him hard in the chin. What felt like a shin brought itself on the backs of his knees and a hand gripped his face. The visibility of the hand that was grabbing him was a relief. Up until when she dug her nails into his face and eyes and pulled his head to the ground.

Sprawled out on the dirt and blurry-eyed, he could barely process his sister step into view above him.

“Here I am, visible, and within reach.” She taunted before planting a kick into his still-open wound.

Jaune tried to roll over onto his stomach, both to shield his injury and to push himself onto his feet. His sister kicked his arms out from under him. To add insult to injury she kicked him in the guts as he fell, sending him several meters away.

Individually his sisters seemed to lack the raw power to get through his aura. But Jade had opened the way for his sisters’ to inflict a lot of pain and sap his stamina. She had created a weak spot, unrelated to his aura. While his aura was still sitting safely at fifty percent, his heart rate and breathing were erratic. The pain and exposure to several dust explosions from Sabel hadn’t helped either.

Jaune flipped himself back up, ready to intercept his sister’s next attack.

Unfortunately, his sister had once again disappeared.

He knew his sister didn’t have a warping power. She was the type who would abuse it in daily life if she had it. So Jaune knew she was either becoming invisible or messing with his perception. It was like the stealth Semblance the White Fang sniper used. Ren’s comments from how to deal with it replayed in his head.

‘No Semblance is unbeatable. They all have a weak spot. If they’re invisible, inaudible, scentless, and undetectable by machines, try aura. In failing that, don’t look for them, look for indirect signs of their existence.’

Jaune raced away to a section of his running track that he knew like the back of his hand.

“Running away?” Coral asked, suddenly appearing behind him, hot on his heels.

“Maybe I’m luring you into a trap?” Jaune fired back.

“Please. I’m the hunter here. You’re prey.” She viciously remarked.

It seemed that speed was one of her specialties where brute strength wasn’t. She easily outpaced him and got close enough to fire a point-blank shot into his thigh. Jaune just gritted his teeth and bared it while maintaining his pace.

She laughed as she reloaded her crossbow with another bolt. She always had been a bit sadistic with her teasing, but it seemed combat really brought it out of her. He loved his sister, and he knew she would never go out of her way to hurt someone. But it seemed that training was fair game.

Jaune instantly turned on her, trying and make use of the opportunity of her visibility. Once again, she vanished into thin air.

It seemed like every time Jaune tried to fight her she would disappear. When he tried to run, she'd reappear. There was no apparent time limit between uses, nor was there a time limit to how long she could last. Or at least, if there was, it was several minutes long or more.

Finally, Jaune made it to the location he had picked for battle. His feet kicked up the dust as he ran into the center of a dusty clearing. Behind him, he spotted the incredibly subtle imprint of footprints in the fine loose dirt. Jaune immediately launched an attack at that position.

His sword collided with something solid. Instantly his sister appeared in front of him. Already blocking his strike with a buckler that rested atop her crossbow like a cover.

“Found you.” Jaune taunted back, finally getting some revenge.

One of her fingers twitched and her arm slightly shuffled under his attack. Jaune dodged the crossbow bolt before it had even broken contact with the string.

Coral tried to hit him again in the torso, but visible like she was, he had no trouble reading her intentions. He grabbed the back of her neck with his spar hand and clinched, pressing his hips into her groin. From there he slipped his hand onto her collar and attempted to throw her over his shoulder onto the ground.

In an impressive display of technical skill, she managed to slip out of her shirt in the middle of the fight.

Unfortunately for her, the buckler was too large to slip through her sleeve and she was bound by her right hand.

Physically weaker than Jaune as a dexterity focused fighter, she was unable to pull away. Instead, Jaune pulled her into a clean hit with his sword. The damage he dealt was enough to shatter her aura.

Letting her drop, he drew his shield and turned to face his next opponent.

“You know Jaune…” His sister said as she slowly marched into the clearing. “You can feel proud of getting this far. Hell, forget what Dad said. If you can pull this much off, you might just get lucky and beat your partner.”

“Is there a reason why you and Dad seem so certain I’m going to lose?” Jaune frustratedly asked.

“It’s nothing personal. You’re a quick learner, some might even call you a prodigy in some ways. I’m certain you started the school year with nothing more than the absolute basics. But that girl was beating competitors your age when she was thirteen. Not once in the four years of tournaments has she ever even fallen below half of her aura. Half the time, she doesn’t breach ninety percent. There’s a reason why she is called the ‘Invincible Girl’.” Sapphron explained.

She stepped into range with her spear tip pointed to the ground, a sign that she wasn’t about to attack.

“You lack the raw power needed for someone like her. Mom told us everything you might be facing so that Dad could work out the optimal training plan for you, you know? I’m willing to bet her base stats are all higher than yours, even if you boosted them. You don’t even have a Semblance to even the odds. How do you expect to win?”

She wasn’t wrong. The last time he’d seen her stats, she was in the 120-130 range for her combat stats, even more than that for dexterity. Not to mention her adrenaline burst skill. With a Semblance on top, she had every advantage where he had none.

“I made a promise,” Jaune stated bluntly.

“A promise? Do you think that means anything? You can’t overcome everything just because you want to Jaune. Thinking like that will get you hurt, or killed.” His sister reasoned.

“That’s where you're wrong. Desire? Willpower? How often do we talk about these being exactly the things that give our aura strength? It’s the promise I made that will give me the edge I need.”

Jaune channeled his aura into his blade. All of it. Power was welling up from his chest that he didn’t even realize he had. Without the time to check his scroll meter, he simply kept drawing until he felt like he’d exhausted all of it.

His blade was singing. The vibrations from the sheer magnitude of energy held within it was turning his hand numb.

“I promised her I’d take that title of invincible away from her. That I’d give her a fight like never before.” He raised his sword above his head and his sister instantly raised her guard and braced herself. A thin layer of sweat had formed on her brow in the seconds that he had prepared this attack. “And an Arc never goes back on their word!”

Jaune’s attack extended far beyond the scope of anything he had thrown before. Easily 5 feet thick and twice as tall the arc of aura crashed into his sister’s shield.

Her Semblance, Bastion, allowed her to completely nullify the force of an attack. She could absorb it into her aura to be release later like a Yang-like counter-attack.

Thus, when her feet began to slide back from the force of his attack, he knew something was going on.

Sapphron’s shield began to glow a pale yellow and slowly transitioned into a brilliant gold. Streaks of lightning escaped her as she failed to condense the aura that she was absorbing.

Finally, she stopped as the strength of his strike began to dwindle. With one final shove, she shattered his strike.

If she so chose, her counter-attack would utterly destroy him. His aura was a speck away from utter depletion. With his wound recovering, even that would last less than a minute.

But the counter-attack never came. Jaune had thought it sympathy from his sister who wouldn’t be so cruel as to attack him when he couldn’t defend himself. He soon realized it wasn’t just that.

Sapphron’s tower shield, several inches of quality, Grimm-handling steel, had been cut.

Right down the middle, a slash had been ground into the surface. At the very center, it had been deep enough to cut his sister’s arm.

She couldn’t counter-attack because she needed a shield to use her Semblance. What she had was no longer a shield.

She dropped to one knee and removed the shield to grab at her arm. She was bleeding almost as much as Jaune's body wound had.

“And now you have to fight me!” his father stated.

Shocked, Jaune turned to face his father, only to see the shit-eating grin he wore.

“I’m kidding. You did well Jaune. Now how about we get those wounds seen to?” he asked both Jaune and Sapphron.

Jaune’s response, after all the blood loss and exertion, was to collapse on the spot.

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 14**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 30 (75) [+18]**

**Fortitude: 35 (88) [+23]**

**Dexterity: 23 (57) [+17]**

**Aura: 30/30**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Construction: Level 0]  
** Reduced mistakes when performing construction or repair jobs.   
An innate understanding of structures comes with skill level.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **???**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.  
Secondary pool of aura.

 **[Aura Control: Level 6]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 26%   
All Aura abilities are 60% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 4]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 14(22) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 4]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 14(22) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(240)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 4]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura. Additionally, within the same radius, you can observe aura in all creatures that have it.  
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 100(160) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter when using aura.

 **[Aura Emission: Level 5]**   
Disconnect your aura from its source and project it outwards.   
Aura Emission techniques cost 50% more aura.   
Aura Emission techniques weaken over distance. 5% reduction over 1(1.6) meters.  
Aura Slash: For each 1(1.5) points of aura used in this technique, deal base attack damage + base aura spent x0.6

 **[Aura Step: Level 5]  
** Channel aura through your feet into a surface to generate increased friction and force.  
Error margin : 5%

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 5]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 15(22) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 2xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 8]**   
Aura Recovery Rate +180% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 9] (Passive)  
** Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 9] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 90%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 9%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 45%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 7] (Passive)  
** Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 70%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 35%

 **[Hand to Hand Skill: Level 4] (Passive)  
** Increase damage with all unarmed attacks by 20%  
Increase hit rate with all unarmed attacks by 4%  
Increase unarmed defense efficiency by 20%

 **[Willpower: Level 1]  
** Force your will onto others through your aura.  
Can simulate emotion or even cause a variety of mental conditions in the target.  
Use of this skill is also the defense against this skill.

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de** **grâce** **!]  
** A finishing blow to an injured opponent.  
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.  
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.  
Cooldown 3 seconds.  
Recharge 60 seconds.


	36. Interlude VII Arc Family

Jaune swung once more and his aura lashed out into the branch before him.

It was snapped more than it was cut, but it had been damaged all the same. Jaune be able to once again lower the amount of aura he used in each swing and continue his training.

“Jaune!” his mother called.

Jaune stopped his training and immediately moved to see what she wanted.

“I’ve got something for you.” She said once he stood before her.

Jaune smelled it before he saw it; his mother’s chicken pot pie.

“No way! I haven’t had one of these in forever!” Jaune instantly shouted.

“Shhh keep your voice down. It wasn’t easy to make this out here and if the other’s find out I made you one, they’ll all want some.” She explained, putting a hand over his mouth and pressing the pastry into his hands.

“You mean the whole thing is mine?” Jaune asked.

She nodded.

“I have to make sure you’re eating properly after all. Why don’t we take a break from training and you can eat your fill?”

Jaune could barely wait until they had sat down before cutting himself a slice.

It was just as he remembered. The chicken was cut into bite-sized pieces instead of the tiny chunks you’d get from a regular store. The gravy was thick and not at all watery. The pastry was perfect too, flaky and crunchy. It was everything he could have asked for.

“It’s so good.” Jaune praised. “Your cooking is the best.”

“Well, I’ve got some good news for you then. Tomorrow I’ve got chicken fried steak with peppered gravy, and the day after that I’m making lasagne.” She happily explained.

“I take it back. Your cooking isn’t the best. You’re the best mom!” Jaune said before stuffing his face with another bite.

Juniper laughed.

“Well, I hope I haven’t spoiled you for other women now. They say a young boy always marries someone just like his mother. I wouldn’t want to set the bar too high now.” She joked.

Jaune laughed as he mulled that over.

Pyrrha and his mother were alike in a lot of ways. They were both strong in both body and mind. He had no issue saying that his mother was attractive like Pyrrha was, especially for her age.

With that said, there were some differences. Namely, his partner’s inability to step within 5 meters of a kitchen without managing to cause chaos.

He gave her the credit she was due of course, she tried her best. But whatever the opposite of natural talent was, Pyrrha had that with cooking. He used to think it was her class like she had once said it was, but his mother ruined that.

“Hey Mom, could you tell me some more about your class?” Jaune asked when he recognized the opportunity he had.

“What about it dear?” Juniper asked.

“Well, what is it that makes it a prestige class, I guess. Barbarians aren’t a prestige class, but their rage skill puts them above a regular fighter. I guess I just want to know what it is that makes you that much further ahead.” Jaune explained.

“So you can try to plan around it with your partner no doubt. I’m afraid the answer isn’t going to help you much. Put simply, a champion has unparalleled body control. We can make ourselves do things at will that others simply can not. I bet you already know of a skill or two that your partner uses like that.” She replied.

Jaune nodded. Pyrrha’s adrenaline rush was, at least he assumed, a bodily technique. It wasn’t an aura technique, he knew that much.

“Unfortunately, there’s no real counter for it. It’s like your aura. You have more of it than normal and that’s just something everyone else has to deal with. Your best bet is to try and think of any natural weaknesses she might have. For instance, if she makes herself stronger, it probably saps her stamina. If she is using her flexibility to dodge your blows, try and make her over extend."

Jaune grumbled into another mouthful of pie and Juniper chuckled.

“Just focus on doing what you do best Jaune. Sometimes fighting to your strengths is better than fighting to their weaknesses. Now finish that up and get back to training.”

Jaune nodded, popping the rest of his private treat into his mouth before returning.

**/-/**

Later that night, as Jaune lay in his tent he received a second visit. Lavender unzipped the entrance just enough to poke her head through.

“You can come in, I’m awake.” Jaune replied.

Lavender pushed it open and crawled inside before zipping it back up. Jaune turned on a small lamp so they could both see. When he did, he realised she’d brought a book with her.

“You wanna?” She said, holding it up when she noticed he’d spotted it.

Lavender had always enjoyed reading as a pastime. She especially enjoyed ‘choose your own adventure’ books. When she had been younger, she couldn’t read them by herself. Instead she would get Jaune to read them for her while she made the choices.

As they’d grown up, they never truly shook that activity. Instead they let it grow from simple story books to full blown Fighting Fantasy books. Books which were more like a game than a linear story. This book was one that he hadn’t read with her yet.

“Sure. Did you bring everything else?” Jaune asked.

She nodded and pulled out the notepads, pencils, and dice from her hoodie’s oversized pockets.

Jaune sat himself up and took the book. He knew how long these took. Chances were, he wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight. Especially if she wanted the good ending.

**/-/**

“Sabel, hand these out would you? They’re hot.” Juniper asked as she handed over a loaded plate of food.

She took the plates bare-handed and handed them out to everyone present. Everyone else took them in hand, knowing that now that Sabel had handled them, they were safe to touch.

As she walked back to take her seat, Jaune watched her tap he foot against Coral’s shin. There was a crackle and she jumped, slamming her knees into the table she was sitting at.

“Bitch! How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that? It hurts.” Coral seethed.

Sable shrugged her shoulders.

Honestly, he didn’t feel too bad for his sister. She was always giving out shit to everyone else, so it was always good fun to see her get some back in return. With that said, Jaune didn't dare be the one to test her.

“And if you keep laughing Jaune, you’ll find out what the inside of your own-”

“Now now, play nice. It’s only breakfast. Let’s save the threats for lunch time at least.” Juniper requested.

“Yeah Coral, play nice.” Jaune goaded.

His sister nearly flipped the table as she reached for him. His mother caught her arms and forced her to sit instead.

“Thank you for volunteering to do the dishes afterwards Coral.” His mother stated as a warning.

Coral sucked her teeth and turned her head away from Jaune. In response, he snorted.

“Jaune... Go do some laps.” His father ordered.

_Damn it._

**/-/**

**There was one more part to this but I got my wires crossed uploading chapters to AO3 and didn’t save it before I closed it. Now I can’t bring myself to write it again because of frustration. I apologise for the shorter than usual (and already quite short) chapter.**


	37. The Tournament I

Jaune's parents had always been opposites. When one loved the cold, the other needed warmth. They were truly a personification of black and white. Their opinions on Jaune's performance had been no different.

His mother had been so proud of his results. Showering him in praise for the results of their training. Meanwhile, his father had been sure to temper her praise with criticism.

Yes, he had won and defeated his seven sisters by himself. It was an accomplishment he could be proud of. But they were, most of them at least, still civilians. Only his eldest sister was huntress certified. The rest had merely gone through what Nicholas deemed 'self-defense lessons'.

He also didn't fail to point out how Jaune’s victory had been given to him in the end. Sapphron had abandoned all strategy to accept his resolve head-on. There were many methods she could have used to repel or evade his final strike, but she had refused to.

So yes, his father gave him a passing grade. But he wasn't about to let it Jaune get overconfident. A single year of training at Beacon gave him more experience than his six other sisters combined. The same could not be said for his competitors, or the Grimm

“Enough about that Nicky, our boy did something amazing at the end. Shouldn’t we focus on the positives for a change?” His mother suggested.

“Amazing is certainly one way of describing it,” Sapphron said as she bandaged her arm. “I’ve seen him train. I knew what he was capable of more or less. With all his strength and aura combined, he couldn’t have pulled that off. Focus and determination be damned.”

“I have to admit, I could feel something... different about that last strike,” Jaune admitted.

“Different how?” His father asked.

“It was like there was the second pool of aura deep within me. It was different from what I feel is ‘my’ aura. When I charged that final attack I could feel it replenishing my reserves, but it wasn’t just that. It was like... It was as if that second aura combined with my aura and became stronger. If I had to describe it, it felt the same as what I feel from you guys.” Jaune explained, gesturing at both his parents.

“A second pool of aura...” his mother said.

“Your aura got stronger?’ his father asked at the same time.

“It makes sense if you think about it,” Sabel stated.

Everyone waited for her to elaborate. Sabel was someone with unique insights into aura and Semblances. Her own was somewhat complicated and quite entrenched in physics. She had to do a lot of research on a lot of topics to understand and master her Semblance. Even her parents with their aura-centric Semblances didn't have as much theoretical knowledge.

“Who did you most want to be like growing up?” she asked.

“Dad.” Jaune instantly replied. His mother gently sighed.

“I bet Mom was a close second right?” she further questioned.

Jaune nodded. “And Sapph too.”

“Well... They say our Semblances are derived from our personalities. Or that our personalities are determined from birth by our soul, our aura. If you spent most of your life wanting to be like Mom and Dad, doesn’t it make sense that your Semblance would be the same? The Schnee family, the ones who own all the dust companies, their Semblance is hereditary. One theory is that it’s because they value their family name so much. They all end up so alike because their personalities all start with their family traits.” She explained.

_Weiss does talk about the fact that she is ‘a Schnee’ a lot, even if she doesn’t actually talk about her family._

Sabel continued. “Dad’s Semblance is a kind of ‘super-strong aura’. Mom’s is having a lot of aura and being able to give it to others. So you having a lot of aura that can be super strong isn’t too far-fetched.”

“I guess it makes sense. It doesn’t explain everything, but then I guess I’m not a perfect combination of Mom and Dad either.” Jaune replied.

“Whatever the case, if it is your Semblance, you need to learn to control it. If you can learn to draw on it consistently, then maybe your chances of winning this tournament won’t be so low.” His father stated. “For now though, it’s time you got going. You’ve been away from your team long enough.”

“Oh, I’m going to miss you all over again!” His mother raced up and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. “You’re going to do great honey, I just know you will!”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll miss you too.” Jaune responded. Amber jumped and grabbed onto his neck. “Yeah, and I’ll miss you too Amber. I’ll miss all of you.”

...

“Except you Coral, I think I’ll do just fine without you around for a little while longer.” He added.

She flashed him the bird and he laughed.

He knew that they’d be watching, after all this effort, he knew they were almost as invested as he was. He would make sure to unblock their numbers on his scroll so they could contact him more freely.

Things were going to be better going forward.

**/-/**

“Ren! He’s back! I’ve missed you Jauney!” Nora shouted as soon as he entered their dorm room.

She leaped at him and tried to mount his shoulders for a forced piggyback. Jaune adjusted his stance to make sure she didn’t bowl him over.

“I missed you too Nora.” Jaune casually replied, bouncing her up so she was sat properly and not pulling his neck to the side.

“You seem different, stronger even,” Pyrrha said. “I can’t recall a time when you’ve ever caught Nora like that. Normally you duck and run.”

Jaune carried Nora over and kissed Pyrrha on the cheek.

“It was productive training, that’s for sure,” Jaune replied. “I missed you by the way.”

Despite not having said or done anything too daring, Pyrrha seemed to blush ever so slightly.

He stepped over to Ren.

“I think I’ve got something of yours,” Jaune said as he reached up and plucked Nora off his shoulders by the scruff of her collar.

“Wheee!” Nora squealed as she was practically tossed into Ren’s arms.

Ren caught her bridal style before gently placing her down with an awkward cough.

“During this tournament, I finally have something to share with you. A little bit of payback for all the aura skills you taught me. If you’re interested.” Jaune offered.

Ren nodded. “After our match tomorrow we will have time to train and prepare for our future matches.”

“The matchup schedule is released in the morning, and then every afternoon afterward,” Pyrrha added.

“We can work with that.” Jaune checked the time. It had taken a few more hours to pack up and say farewells to his family. It was now bordering on midday. “Say, when you guys learned what your Semblance was, how did you learn to control it?” he asked.

“Why do you ask? Wait, are you saying...?” Pyrrha asked.

“Maybe. I don’t know yet. I just want to... get some tips on what I can do over the next few days to see if I can’t squeeze something out of it. How about you Nora?” Jaune explained.

“Well, one moment I’m playing around with a shiny new hammer in a rainstorm. The next, I’m strong enough to pull trees up like garden weeds.” Nora bouncily recalled.

“Ugh. Don’t remind me. It wasn’t just the super-strength either, it was like she’d been injected with pure caffeine. She was bouncing off the walls for hours.” Ren added.

"That... is less than helpful. How about you Pyrrha? Your Semblance is something you have to activate." Jaune asked.

“I first used my Semblance on my 10th birthday. My mother bought me my very first scroll... and I kind of... bricked it...” Pyrrha hesitantly explained.

“No.” Jaune replied in disbelief.

Pyrrha covered her face with her hands to hide her embarrassment.

“Yes. I’d never been around fancy electronics before then. Even our TV was one of the big old ones with the channel dial and no remote. I always thought the static was normal.” Jaune and Nora both snorted. “I picked up the phone and it started to smoke almost straight away. I cried for almost an hour. Learning to use my Semblance was more like learning to stop using it first. The rest just sort of came naturally after I’d gotten that far.”

“How about you Ren?” Jaune asked.

Ren didn’t respond for a while, and for a second it looked like Nora might have been about to speak for him.

“I don’t think my story will help you much. It was just something that happened when the situation demanded it. Control didn’t come until years later.” He explained.

_Years huh... Mine is the same, it only pops up when I seem to need it. I just hope the time to control it isn’t the same too._

“Well, no worries. Do you guys mind if I go-”

“Yes, we mind! You’ve been AWOL for two whole weeks now.” Nora interrupted.

“Actually, I kind of got permission? You were all there, we said goodbye and everything.” Jaune countered.

“That doesn’t matter, you’re staying put mister. If you try to escape again, I’ll sic Pyrrha on you. Back me up, guys!” Nora ordered.

Pyrrha shrugged her shoulders while Ren sighed.

“I knew I could count on my favorite minions.”

**/-/**

Jaune wound up spending the rest of the day with his team catching up.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to spend some time with them, he did. But the possibility of being able to use his Semblance in the tournament was tantalizing.

As it was though, he had learned a few interesting things that had happened while he was away.

For starters, team RWBY had ramped up their training. It seemed that someone had a change of heart and wanted to make a splash in this coming tournament. No one knew more about it than that because the entire team had been missing almost as long as Jaune had.

Next was a complaint from Pyrrha. She had been blasted with questions about the tournament and Jaune. All thanks to his own interview. She even had a rather intimidating list of demands on what he could and couldn’t say if he got another one.

Given that Pyrrha struggled with that part of her life as it was, he felt pretty bad for having added to her problems.

Finally, a betting pool had been created amongst the students. Student's gambled on who they thought would win or lose at which stage of the tournament.

In a more professional setting, the votes that people made would have been kept secret. So naturally, they had been released after a few days. This revealed that the teachers had shamelessly gotten involved. Professor Port placed bets on both Nora and Yang. Doctor Oobleck voted on Ruby. Even Miss Goodwitch placed a vote on Pyrrha.

There was even an entire section for Jaune who had riled up everyone with his interview.

Many claimed he would be out in the first round of the finals. Only making it that far due to his partner. A smaller group claimed he would drag his partner out of the tournament early. No one from Beacon seemed to agree, but that was probably only because they knew just how strong Pyrrha was.

Finally, four students seemed to believe Jaune would make it to the top four or even top two. His partner had bet that Jaune would make it to the top two, presumably where she would then defeat him. Ruby, Yang, and Blake had been the other three, voting that he would win at least one match in the finals.

Jaune couldn’t recall what he had done to impress them enough to instill that kind of confidence.

In the morning, thanks to his father’s efforts in retraining him, he had woken up long before the rest of his team. They wouldn’t have as much time to enjoy their rest as they normally did, but he decided to let them have what they could. He left to do some early morning training as quietly as he could.

It wouldn’t be in his best interest to throw away his stamina by training with his blade too extensively. In a few hours, he would be at the opening ceremony for the tournament, his match could be right afterward.

At the same time, he didn’t want to waste his time by going on a simple jog or waste his aura by using it to train his other skills. Fortunately, there were still a few training methods he had available.

A few of Jaune’s aura control training methods were ones that didn’t expel aura. As a result, they were cheap on both aura and stamina. They may not show any immediate results like a stat increase could, but training was training.

One such training came from his recently completed training. When aura step was mastered, vertical surfaces became negotiable. Practicing that part of the technique would be excellent aura control training.

As he soon found, the technique was half aura control and half body control. His aura would seep into the surface of the tree, but it would also push into it if too much aura was used. If he pushed too hard, he would crush the bark and dislodge his footing. When he finally managed to plant one foot onto the tree, he realized just how hard it was to walk like that. The strain on his abdomen to keep his body straight was training in itself. He had half considered using momentum and trying to run up the tree, but he thought better of it. Better to actually master the technique than taking shortcuts, speed could come later.

After half an hour, Jaune finally managed to plant his second foot on the tree without falling. With that said, most of his success was due to simple trial and error, rather than an increase in actual skill.

Around this time, Jaune received a message letting him know the rest of his team was up and getting ready.

Jaune immediately headed over to the cafeteria to join them.

“You were up early,” Pyrrha said when he arrived.

“You and Pyrrha both used to wake up at the crack of dawn, didn’t you?” Ren asked.

“It was a family thing for me I guess. Easy to fall back into old habits, especially when breakfast is on the line.” Jaune responded.

“Speaking of, here,” Ren said as he dished out a plate of pancakes.

Thanking him, Jaune sat down and got started eating. He wasn’t feeling particularly hungry. The nerves that were slowly rising as the time before the tournament dwindled were the cause of that. Still, he knew it would be better to eat now than later.

“Are you guys feeling ready?” Jaune asked.

“No.” Ren replied.

“Yes.” Both Nora and Pyrrha replied at the same time before looking at Ren inquisitively.

“He means yes, obviously.” Nora then added.

“I’ll do my best, but I’m hardly top of the class in sparring matches. I think only Jaune’s track record is worse than mine, and he’s lost every fight.” Ren replied.

“He has almost won a lot of them though, that’s worth something.” Pyrrha weakly defended.

“They don’t give medals for second place Pyrrha.” Nora countered.

Jaune felt like mentioning that silver medals were literally a thing.

“You’ll do fine Ren. Your aura control is second to none in our year and your hand to hand skill is up there with Yang’s. She just has you beat in the strength and Semblance department.” Jaune encouraged.

“And the stamina department, the weapon department, oh, and the good looks department,” Yang said as she and the rest of team RWBY took their seats nearby.

“Now hang on just a second!” Nora sternly exclaimed. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with Ren’s weapon!”

_Ouch._

“Since when is Ren the one who gets poked fun of like this anyway?” Jaune asked.

“Normally it would be you, but you’re with Pyrrha. That’s practically a free ride to the finals.” Weiss replied.

She had meant it as more of a compliment to his partner’s abilities than as an insult to his own. Despite that, it wasn't easy to ignore. He’d only just gotten away from his family who was so certain that he would lose to his partner. Now he was dealing with everyone thinking he was going to get carried to the finals.

It was like all of his hard work didn’t matter to the result at all. Jaune wasn’t okay with that.

He chose to bite down on the urge to outright say something. As it was with his family, words meant little compared to action. He would show them he wasn’t a burden to his partner, and when he was done with that, he’d beat her and take the number one spot.

That was the goal anyway.

“I heard you guys disappeared this last week, what triggered all of that?” Jaune asked, changing the subject.

“She won’t tell us,” Blake replied.

“She?” Jaune further queried.

“Ruby.” Was her equally vague explanation.

Jaune shot her a look, asking her to explain where her tight-lipped companion wouldn’t or couldn’t.

“I’ll tell you if you beat us.” She stated.

“Hey, that’s more than you’ve given us. What makes him so special?” Yang asked.

Ruby ignored her sister by pretending to focus extra hard on her meal. Everyone else eventually did the same, knowing that they were going to need it.

**/-/**

“Welcome to the Vytal Festival Tournament!” professor Port’s booming voice shouted over the many speakers in the colosseum.

Jaune and his team stood side by side in the center of the Amity Arena. Surrounding them were tens of thousands of seats all filled to capacity.

“Let’s hear it for our 64 competitors!” the professor shouted.

The resulting cheers and claps were almost deafening, even from this far away. Jaune’s features were set in stone, he was too tense at the moment to move a single muscle. Pyrrha’s trained smile made it look like she was completely unaffected. There were, however, a few smaller signs of irritation that only those who knew her would spot.

“If this is your first time watching, allow us to break down the rules.” said the professor once the cheering died down.

“The tournament is divided into 3 distinctive rounds; teams, doubles, and singles.” Doctor Oobleck explained.

“Correct! The winners of the first match will divide into partner pairs, before fighting a total of two matches. The final eight will go on to fight it out amongst each other over three one-on-one matches to determine a victor.” The professor added.

“Indeed, and might I say we are expecting some spectacular spectacles on which to be spectating on.” The doctor exclaimed. “I don’t think anyone tuning in from around the world is going to disagree with that!”

As if the hundred thousand spectators around him right now weren’t enough. Jaune was reminded that there were millions more watching him from home.

“Without further ado, let’s find out who will be participating in our first match!”

On a collection of high-tech hard-light dust screens, a display lit up in front of the seating sections. On it, team names began to rapidly cycle before landing on teams ARGM (Argentum) and CMSN (Crimson). Jaune vaguely recognized the second team as one that was somewhat close to Ruby’s team. One of their members had sparred with Pyrrha several weeks back.

Each team apart from those who were up right now were directed off the stage by a frazzled Miss Goodwitch. It seems the stress of organizing this event was getting to her.

After being told what order they could expect their match, they were offered front row seats. Everyone took full advantage of them to watch the fights and scout out their competition.

Jaune had never watched one of these tournaments before. Thus, when the arena floor was suddenly replaced by a beach and a ruined city, he was shocked, to say the least.

“I didn’t know we would be getting random terrain to fight with! I thought this was going to be a straight fight.” Jaune suddenly exclaimed when he saw it.

“That’s just how the singles rounds work. Every other round gets two or four different zones to work in. It makes it more interesting for the spectators. It should be right up your alley, Jaune.” Pyrrha explained.

And it was. Jaune watched as the two teams below fought it out in the city ruins. It seemed that team CMSN was the stronger team as every time they clashed, they were coming out on top. Three-quarters of them didn’t even have weapons. Though, the boy with the silver hair seemed capable of launching something from his boots. He might have a hidden weapon, suitable for the assassin class.

If it was his team down there, he had dozens of ways team ARGM could be turning these skirmishes to their favor. Sticking to the roads and hiding around corners was too simple. Team CMSN both figuratively and literally stomped them out of the competition.

Following their match was team CRDL versus a team from atlas team CRBN(Carbon). For the first time, Jaune witnessed team CRDL cooperating effectively. Not once did they get into each other’s paths or strike each other. While their individual growth looked minimal, as a team, they were completely different. Russel, Sky, and Dove weakened their opponents and Cardin finished them off one by one. The other team hadn't stood a chance.

Next was team RWBY’s time to shine. Up against a team from Mistral, they fought in a combination of fire and ice zones. Jaune hadn’t realized that the zones could be completely outlandish like this. There were even dust crystals scattered around the arena in these zones.

When team RWBY began their match, they showed that their training hadn't been for naught.

Weiss’ use of dust had become somehow even more refined. Every time she used her dust, it was precise and did exactly what she wanted it to. She used only what she needed too, ensuring that her dust would last her through the fight no matter what. Her glyphs too were a step up from what they used to be. While she still used them to aid her mobility, she had begun using them to interrupt her opponents too.

Blake’s direct combat skills had improved greatly. She still used her Semblance to fake out her hoverboard-riding opponent. But she wasn't afraid to face her head on either.

Ruby was showing just how far she had come as a tactician and leader. With perfect accuracy, she used the dust in the terrain to freeze an opponent in place.

She wasn’t just picking shots from a distance though. One of her opponents had made the mistake of forcing her into melee combat. While he managed to stop her overhead blow from caving in his skull, the force pushed him to the ground.

Surprisingly, it was Yang who had the most trouble. Despite how her teammates were making it look, the other team wasn’t weak. They had managed to force Yang onto the icy terrain where she struggled to maintain her footing. Without stable ground to fight on, she could barely defend herself. Generating her usual staggering power was out of the question.

Team ABRN(Auburn)’s teamwork wasn’t too shabby either. With Yang temporarily displaced, her opponent managed to free her frozen teammate. Until Yang managed to regroup, they now had a three-on-four match in their favor.

Fortunately for team RWBY, Blake had a solution. With a dose of her Semblance, she managed to even the odds by tricking an opponent into being knocked out of bounds.

Jaune checked the scoreboard which displayed all of the fighter’s aura levels. Weiss and Ruby were practically unharmed, likely only missing aura from their use of it to fight with. Meanwhile, the dark-haired boy who had faced Ruby’s attack was barely at half after that single strike. Yang’s opponent was on par with Ruby after having knocked Yang down to sixty percent.

Weiss managed to trap two of their opponents simultaneously into a spherical cage of ice. Meanwhile, Yang had finally gotten her balance and started skating across the ice,

Moments later, a combination attack from Weiss, Blake, and Yang knocked team ABRN out of bounds.

With most of the crowd, Jaune and the rest of team JNPR all stood up out of their seats to cheer. It had been the flashiest fight so far and the crowd was loving it. More importantly, his friends had made it to the next round.

“Let’s go congratulate them!” Jaune said.

With all the delays included, even if this match ended in an instant, they had about ten minutes to spare.

They managed to intercept team RWBY hanging around the fairgrounds. A place where competitors and spectators alike were able to get food from one of the hundreds of stalls.

“Hey! You guys did awesomely!” Jaune shouted out, getting their attention.

Pyrrha nodded enthusiastically. “Well done on making it to the next round.”

“Maybe we’ll see you there?” Yang cockily asked.

“Let’s not tempt fate too much,” Blake stated shortly after her partner.

“Come on, the next two rounds are exactly when we’d want to face Pyrrha isn’t it? We beat her two on one last time.” Said Yang.

Jaune frowned. Yang was acting as if that’s what it would be if their teams faced off. Like he wasn’t even there.

“Do you think you guys are ready?” Ruby asked, changing the subject.

“Yes.” Nora, Pyrrha, and Jaune replied.

“Sure...” Ren replied after they stared him down.

“How can we not be ready?” Nora asked. “We have a world-renowned fighter on our team, what’s basically a ninja – even if he doesn’t seem to realize it – I can bench five of me, and... Jaune! We’ve trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Glynda barely yells at me for blowing up the arena anymore, and uhh... Jaune!”

“Are you going to take that?” Ren asked.

“Frankly, I’m just looking forward to a fight where I’m not likely to kill someone or get killed. These first few rounds are nothing more than sparring as far as I’m concerned.” Jaune replied.

“Easy for you to say,” Weiss commented.

Little comments like that one were beginning to get under Jaune’s skin.

Suddenly, all of team JNPR’s scrolls went off, instructing them to head to the arena. The previous round must have finished already and they were up next.

As far as Jaune was concerned, it was perfect timing. Weiss’s comment had gotten him in the mood for this match.

He was going to show everyone who doubted him what he was capable of.

**/-/**

Standing opposite from them in the arena was a team from Vacuo.

Team BRNZ(Bronze) happened to bear a striking resemblance in composition to Adam’s team.

One girl wielded what was blatantly a sniper rifle. She didn’t even bother having it in another form if it even had one. The others fell into similar statuses of mid to close range fighters. They did lack the giant with a chainsaw though which was a relief.

Standing back in the arena as one of eight being watched, Jaune felt his nerves grow restless. For a moment he was overwhelmed by the thought of the millions of people that would be watching.

But then he remembered exactly what was at stake here.

He doubted that with the rest of this team here that they would lose. He would make it to the further rounds and get a chance to see Pyrrha in the finals no matter what. But his reputation hung off this match. If he didn’t make even a small splash, he would be getting the same comments tomorrow as well.

The arena swapped out the blank terrain for a forest and stormy mountain pair. The forest would make a great cover for the enemy sniper. If they wound up in a pinch Jaune already had plans for getting Nora on top of that mountain. The fact that both terrains ended up on the correct sides of the arena played into these plans perfectly.

A counter began to work backward from ten, signifying the match was about to begin.

“We’ve fought this exact type of fight twice now. Ren, you distract the sniper long enough for us to take out the rest of her team.” Jaune ordered. “I want this match finished in three minutes. Any less and we're getting sloppy.”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Nora eagerly declared.

“Three!” Professor Port’s loud voice shouted.

Jaune channeled his aura to his feet. He was ready to engage the instant the fight started.

“Two!”

He then pumped his muscles to their limits. His dexterity and strength were raised to 176, his absolute safe limit.

“One!”

Jaune poured his willpower and his desire for victory over his team. General Ironwood had once told him that it could bolster allies if used properly. Now would be the perfect chance to test that theory.

“Begin!”

Jaune kicked off with all of his power, covering the short distance in a fraction of a second.

Their sniper had already turned to run away, meaning Jaune would have to go through or around her team to catch her. So instead, he launched an immediate full-power offensive against the closest target. A Scrapper-class fighter wielding two razor-sharp buzzsaw-bucklers was the unlucky volunteer.

Jaune’s instant assault shocked the opposing team who had not expected such a direct attack. Even his team hadn’t been fully prepared for his blitz.

“Heavy Strike!” Jaune declared, activating his skill.

The sound his sword made when it connected with his opponent’s guard was almost sickening.

His opponent's weapons just weren’t made to take direct impacts like this. They were thin and only meant to be used as a protective layer between sharp edges during a deflection. They were made well enough to not break as non-huntsman weapons might have. The wielder's arms and aura weren’t as lucky. If he hadn’t have had aura, his arms would have snapped. As it was, they gave way, opening the path for Jaune’ to bash with his shield.

His opponent’s head whipped from the impact and not a second later, he collapsed to the ground.

“Well, I can’t believe it! Roy Stallion of team BRNZ has been eliminated by Jaune Arc!” Doctor Oobleck declared.

Jaune looked around the battlefield. Both his team and the opposing team were stunned by the sudden elimination.

“Well? We’re in the middle of a fight aren’t we?” Jaune prompted once his cool down wore off.

One of his remaining opponents swung at him with a cattle prod. Electricity was one of the few things that Jaune always had to be cautious of. No amount of aura or defense could delay its effects.

Jaune jumped backward.

“Nora, take the left!” He shouted, pointing out the one who had just attacked him. “Pyrrha, you take the right.”

Nora’s Semblance was a direct counter for the cattle prod, while Pyrrha’s skill would easily handle the rest. Now all he had to do was ensure his opponents didn’t have the opportunity to pull off any tricks.

It was clear that his opponents wanted to get revenge for their eliminated teammate. But his teammates weren’t the type of people they could just ignore.

Already, Nora had tricked her opponent into charging her Semblance with his weapon. She landed a return blow that almost dealt as much damage as his strike had. If she was the type of fighter to use skills, that would have been another instant elimination.

Pyrrha was taking her time picking apart her opponent. Every strike was dodged, deflected, or blocked before it had a chance to so much as scratch her. Meanwhile, she was slowly working out the combinations that left him open. She would have him dealt with in no time.

Ren was having the most difficulty. He seemed hesitant to use his aura for anything more than shielding. Without aura, his current speed was just slightly slower than his opponent’s.

Jaune ran to cut her off, but she used her rifle like a hook to pull herself up into the limbs of the trees.

With just his jumping ability, he wouldn't be able to reach her, and climbing would be too slow.

“Ren! Up!” Jaune shouted.

Ren instantly raced for Jaune, who in turn was following behind their target on the ground. When Ren caught up, Jaune lifted his shield above his head and caught Ren who had leaped onto his shield.

With a push, Jaune sent Ren flying up into the canopy, straight for the enemy sniper. With the speed of both Ren’s jump and Jaune’s launch, he was able to easily catch her and bring her back down to the ground.

Jaune grabbed her rifle which had been dropped during the fall and threw it as far as he could.

“Well done Ren, I’ll finish things from here. Go help the other two.” Jaune ordered.

Ren nodded and raced off to where the rest of the fighting was happening. Jaune grappled the girl and marched her toward the bounds of the arena.

“Fight me properly!” She shouted as she tried to squirm out of his grip.

She swung behind her with her elbow, landing a clean hit on Jaune’s face. His aura easily absorbed the blow from the girl whose talent was not in strength or unarmed fighting.

“I’d rather not attack an unarmed girl.” Was Jaune’s only response, before he threw her out of the arena.

“Things are not looking good for team BRNZ!” Professor Port shouted over the speakers.

“They certainly aren’t Peter. This may end up as our shortest match yet!” Doctor Oobleck responded.

Jaune jogged back to the center of the arena where his team was finishing the match. Even without his help, they had their opponents outnumbered three on two. Just as he returned he saw both remaining contestants aura readings drop into the red. Nora landed a crushing blow with her hammer, breaking through both of their guards at once.

“And that’s the match!” The professor announced. “Team JNPR wins!”

He had hoped he would get a chance to show off in this match. But he hadn’t planned for the fight to be as easy as it had been. Most of his sisters put up more of a fight than that, as did most of the students he fought at Beacon.

While he was confident he looked good in this match, it wasn’t the satisfying victory he was searching for.

When directed, team JNPR left the stage, and it was only then that his team decided to jump him.

“Jaune! What was that?” Pyrrha asked.

“You were all, ‘Whoosh-Crash-Pow’! You took that guy out like it was nothing!” Nora loudly added.

“I mean... They were kind of pushovers, weren’t they? No Semblances and their stats didn’t feel too high. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said we’ve fought worse. Why is it such a surprise that I took out one of them?” Jaune responded.

“It wasn’t that you defeated someone, it was because your fighting style was different,” Ren replied. “Your fights were always...”

“They were mud fights,” Pyrrha stated. “You almost always relied on outlasting your opponent or tricking them.”

She wasn’t wrong.

“Well, I’m still going to be doing that. Fight to my strengths and all that. I just have a few more tricks now.” Jaune replied. “Besides...”

“Jaune!” Ruby shouted as she led her team over to him.

“You guys kicked ass.” Said Yang.

Team RWBY went over the match, sharing their favorite parts. As they did, Ruby managed to get Jaune’s attention and drag him away from the group.

“I guess nobody is going to be saying anything about you getting a free ride now, huh?” Ruby asked.

“You noticed that?” Jaune asked.

Ruby nodded. “I think everyone was stressed out about this tournament. They wouldn’t normally be so dismissive.”

“I suppose that makes it a little better. I know my track record isn’t the best, but it was getting pretty annoying. My parents didn’t think I’d have a chance against Pyrrha but they at least felt I’d do fine in the rest of the tournament.” Said Jaune.

“Well, most of us aren’t likely to have a chance against Pyrrha. She is the ace fighter of our year after all... Also, your track record? It’s not that bad is it?” Ruby asked.

“You kidding? I’ve never won a sparring match. Ever.” Jaune answered.

“Really? Yang always talked about how annoying you were to fight against. I remember nearly running out of aura in our sparring match too.” Ruby replied.

“You were taking it easy on me and she probably only says that because she always ends up with sand in her hair.” Jaune flippantly countered.

Ruby hummed thoughtfully.

“Well, anyway, you were cool out there today. I just wanted to say that, and apologize for the others from earlier.” Said Ruby.

She then collected her team and took them back to the stands to watch the rest of the matches. Jaune considered doing the same to scout out the teams he would be facing. But he could just as easily do that with the replays that would be available later this evening.

Instead, Jaune could use the rest of the afternoon to continue the training he started in the morning.

“You guys doing anything this afternoon, or do you want to train with me and Ren?” Jaune asked the girls.

“Ugh, no way. Aura training is boring!” Nora bluntly refused.

“I’m inclined to agree, sorry Jaune. Aura techniques aren’t part of my usual repertoire.” Said Pyrrha.

“That’s fine. Ren, you want to go now?” Jaune asked.

“I’ll catch up. You go ahead.” Ren replied.

Jaune nodded. “Alright, I’ll see you back at Beacon then.”

Jaune left, boarding the first available bullhead back to Beacon. If he had of left with Ruby, it probably would have saved him a few minutes, since it seems they took the last one.

When he arrived at Beacon, he was greeted with the sight of a large crowd forming near the landing bay.

Pushing his way through the crowd, he saw two scrapped Atlas droids lying in the courtyard. Next to them stood a man who seemed barely capable of standing on his feet.

“If you won’t hold your tongue, then I will gladly remove it for you.” A woman who looked like an older Weiss stated, pointing a sword at the man.

Even without the clear relation, the two droids by her side showed that she was with the Atlas military.

Is this guy causing a scene or something?

The man chuckled, before sweeping his hair off his face.

“All right then... Come and take it.” He challenged.


	38. Chapter 31 Unedited

“All right then... Come and take it.”

Jaune blinked and nearly missed it.

Her attack had been fast, almost too fast to track. Jaune wondered if she had used a glyph to move as Weiss did. But no, whatever she was doing, it was pure power and skill. He couldn’t recall seeing one or hearing the distinct noise they make.

The drunkard wasn’t easy prey though. He had dodged her first lunge with nothing more than a head tilt. It almost looked like sheer luck until he did it three more times in succession. He even showed off by giving a formal bow underneath her next blow.

She struck at his back, only to find it wasn’t so exposed. A great sword was tucked away on his back which he then activated and drew.

It was easily a two-and-a-half-hander with a roughly five-foot blade length. The blade was almost a foot at its widest.

He wielded this large sword with one hand as if he was fencing with his opponent.

When he finally struck back, his slashes were just as fast as hers had been with her lightweight saber. A trail of red aura flowed behind the tip of his blade, a sign that he wasn’t just strong, but skilled with aura too.

She blocked his strikes with her weapon. An impressive display of skill considering the weight difference in the weapons. She then proceeded to evade his following strikes with a series of acrobatic flips.

It wasn’t long until both found their footing and traded blows back and forth. Sparks flew as their blades clashed again and again with enough force to take out any Grimm.

“What’s going on?!” Jaune heard Ruby ask from elsewhere in the crowd.

“Some crazy guy is attacking my sister.” He heard Weiss reply from the same direction.

Jaune started to make his way through the crowd to try and get more information. It sounded like Weiss was here when it started.

“Oh my god, who would do such a th-at’s my uncle!”

_Ruby no._

“Kick her butt uncle Qrow!” Ruby shouted.

_Ruby no!_

“Teach him some respect Winter!” Weiss shouted in response.

The fight was accelerating with every second that went by. Their footwork became increasingly complex. Soon they were moving so fast that he could only see them in the moments they clashed. With speed matching or even exceeding his father's they each fought to take each other's flank.

Weiss’ sister landed a pommel strike across his jaw. Ruby’s uncle absorbed the damage by twisting his neck with the blow. His only response was to smile.

Winter sensed something that Jaune couldn’t and she used a glyph to throw herself backward. A fraction of a second after she left the ground, Qrow's sword shattered the courtyard.

Jaune could scarcely believe what he was seeing. He could understand Qrow’s power. The man was easily in his thirties or forties and has had decades to become stronger. But Winter had to be in her twenties, younger than Sapphron at least. Yet not even Sapphron could launch herself dozens of meters into the air with a single leap.

Qrow chased her down, cutting through anything that happened to be in the path of his blade on its way to its target. He even carved through a foot of solid steel in a lamppost.

If it was Jaune in this fight, he would be doing anything he could to get away from those attacks. Winter, however, was dancing around them. She even had the gall to land on his sword. Not that Qrow seemed to care as he held up his sword and her body weight with one arm.

She kicked off his face, landing on an overhead railing. Qrow’s great sword shifted, revealing a pair of barrels built into the weapon. It fired like a shotgun, forcing her to dodge once more. She landed on one of the stone columns that made up the colonnade that circles Beacon.

Then, as if it was as easy as breathing, she ran vertically up the side of it, just like he had been training to do.

Jaune finally managed to reposition to where Ruby and Weiss were. He wanted to ask them what was happening, but the fight just kept getting more and more intense. Jaune activated his aura sight to make sure he didn’t miss anything that was going on. What other techniques like the aura step that Winter scaled the pillar with were being used?

A section of masonry was torn apart as Winter leaped at Qrow with enough force to drive his feet through the stone. If this fight kept going, he was worried about what would become of the surroundings.

Suddenly, Winter used a glyph that Jaune had never seen before.

It was larger than normal and a series of what looked like swords rotated inside of it. From it, dozens of shining white baby Nevermore poured out, all flying directly at Qrow.

It seemed like she had to stay completely still and focus on this glyph more than usual. This became clear when Qrow interrupted her ability by forcing her to dodge his aura slash.

Jaune was surprised to see so many of his aura techniques being used by. He had gotten the impression that aura techniques were only used by those who focus on them.

Winter summoned a glyph behind herself and took a stance with both of her blades. She was clearly preparing for a high-speed lunge. Her face no longer held the smug expression it had had for the majority of the fight. Instead, her lips were drawn into a thin line and her brow was furrowed.

Qrow however seemed just as light-hearted as ever, curious if anything. The inner machinery of his weapon began to whir and the blade itself began to separate. The segments began to rearrange themselves, forming a curved blade. Jaune couldn't help but notice the likeness between this new form and Ruby's scythe.

Jaune was eager to see if Ruby’s uncle was as skilled with that weapon as she was. Unfortunately, before his weapon had even fully transformed, he halted the process. In a show of either extreme arrogance or absolute confidence, he placed his weapon on his back. Qrow then taunted his opponent by beckoning her to bring on her attack regardless.

Rightfully infuriated by his provocation, Winter gave him exactly what he wanted. She shot forward over the distance like a white blur, ready to deal a finishing blow to her opponent.

“Schnee!” General Ironwood suddenly shouted. “What in the world do you think you’re doing?”

Winter immediately lowered her weapons, standing at full attention. “General Ironwood! He started the altercation, Sir. I was-”

“That’s actually not true.” Qrow interrupted as he casually placed his hands behind his head. “She attacked first.”

Qrow began to mime whistling as if to say he was innocent. As if he didn’t completely trash the droids that lay in a heap a small distance away. The general looked over him, and the destruction around them.

“Is that right...?” He said.

Winter’s reaction was not what Jaune had expected. Instead of fighting her case and pointing out what Qrow had done, she lowered her head and gritted her teeth.

The general approached Qrow. “And you...”

Qrow feigned surprise, pointing towards himself as if to say ‘who, me?’

Jaune couldn’t hear what they were discussing as they spoke in hushed tones. He and many others tried to inch closer to eavesdrop. Everybody collectively jumped when professor Ozpin spoke out to the crowd.

“Now now. There is a sanctioned fight just around the corner which has far better seats... and popcorn.” He calmly stated.

“Break it up, everyone!” Ms. Goodwitch beside him ordered with not a fraction of the amount of calm. “We will take care of this mess.”

She was clearly not in the mood for this.

The general gave both Qrow and Winter a final look as he adjusted his tie. “Let’s go.”

Winter immediately fell in line, heading toward the school itself.

Qrow however took his time to mess around and talk with Ruby, ignoring the way that Oz was staring at him.

“Qrow! A word please.” Oz finally asked.

Jaune didn’t particularly want to get involved with Ruby’s uncle until he had to. He had a suspicion that since he knew Oz, there was a chance he’d be introduced eventually. So instead of asking Ruby or Weiss what that was all about, he instead left to do what he came here for in the first place.

Jaune returned to the forest so he could continue training his aura control. Now that he knew the next rounds would have such varied terrain his priorities shifted. The ability to move freely in any direction became an even more valuable asset.

Jaune relied on how it felt when he succeeded in the morning. It only took a few minutes of adjustments afterward before Jaune was able to get his feet planted. From there, it was all about maintaining the precise output that he needed.

Each step was the same process. First, deactivate the aura in his rear foot while placing the weight of his body on his lead. Then, he reactivates it and readjusts his weight onto both feet once more. Too much or too little aura and he wouldn’t be stable when he went to move his next foot.

It was tedious and repetitive, requiring a lot of focus and time before he was confident to commit to the action. But with every repetition, he grew used to it and approached what could be called a regular walking speed.

“Quite the impressive technique!” Ren called out.

Jaune promptly fell out of the tree as he lost concentration.

“Though it seems you still need some work,” Ren said as he offered him a hand to help himself up with.

“It’s about as easy as I’m making it look, which suffice to say is not very. I figured you could get a lot of use out of it though. Not just the vertical stuff either, but the whole technique.” Jaune replied, taking the offered hand.

“Is this the technique you used to move as fast as you did? If so, you can consider me intrigued.”

“It’s half of it.”

Jaune dove into a quick explanation. He covered how the technique was composed of both aura and body control elements. With a quick demonstration, he showed off how to do it properly. He also pointed out potential mistakes Ren might make that he already had.

Within minutes, Ren was already about as good as Jaune was with the vertical movement.

“That is so not fair,” Jaune complained.

“Sorry.” Ren laughed. “But I have been training aura control for quite a few years longer than you.”

“What level are you anyway? I can see that your control is at least in the top five in the tournament, but I couldn’t put a number on it.” Jaune asked.

“Level 11, as of a few months ago. What do you mean you can ‘see’ my control?” Ren asked in reply.

“Oh, yeah I suppose this would be a useful skill for you too. The way I unlocked it was a bit weird, but what I do now is I sort of channel my aura into my eyes. It’s part of the aura awareness skill.” Jaune answered.

He manipulated his aura to form a small ball at the tip of his finger. He pushed as much aura into the small space as possible so that it would be easy to see.

Jaune activated his aura sight after that and watched Ren attempt to emulate it. As he was with tree climbing, he was a fairly quick study and managed to get it working in a short time. Frankly, it made Jaune a little jealous. Not just because he picked it up as quickly as he did. But also because he got to do it without the beating that Oz put him through.

“So this is what Fox sees...” Ren muttered.

“Yeah, good luck to whoever wants to try and use an aura technique on him tomorrow. He can probably see aura techniques coming before they’re even formed.” Said Jaune.

“Gee thanks, that fills me with confidence.” Ren dryly replied. When Jaune’s face reflected his confusion, Ren explained. “You haven’t seen the matches for tomorrow yet? Nora and I are up against Fox and Coco.”

“No, I hadn’t. My bad. Who am I up against?” Jaune asked.

“Cardin and Russel,” Ren replied.

“Oh! Well, I guess he’ll be happy then. He wanted to have a rematch with me after all.”

“He did? That’s news to me.”

Jaune gestured for them to both to try and get back to work while they talked. He slowly began making his way back up a nearby tree.

“It was after the incident at the docks. I wasn’t in good enough shape to avoid him, but luckily he just wanted to talk. He had an apology of sorts, and he happened to mention he was looking forward to seeing if I would get stronger.”

“An apology huh?” Ren started to climb another side of the same tree. “I can’t say I expected that from him. But then again, I haven’t seen him mistreat anyone since Forever Fall. His team performed well today too.”

Jaune nearly lost his footing for a moment as he thought back to their match.

“How did team CFVY do?” Jaune asked.

“I only saw the key moments. Coco and Velvet didn’t even use their weapons, but I got to see Yatsuhashi and Fox. They were in good form.” Ren sighed suddenly. “Whether we win or lose is probably going to be up to Nora and how she does against Coco. I think Fox has me beat in every area that counts.”

Jaune noted the fact that Ren had been doubting his performance even before today’s match. Now faced with someone who had such a similar style and a year’s worth of extra training, he seemed to have given up.

Ren was never the type to worry about winning or losing though. Which is why his reactions lately had seemed so out of character.

“Be honest with me for a minute here, but are you worried about this for your sake, or is it something else? You’ve never been one to care about class rankings. It was always more important that you learned something.” Jaune asked.

“I thought this Semblance of mine was supposed to mask my emotions...” he said with a small smile. “It’s Nora, obviously. She wants to do well, she loves to fight strong opponents and push herself. She’s like your and Pyrrha in that way. I just don’t want to hold her back. Frankly, if someone else could fight for me so that she could have a better chance, I wouldn’t mind dropping out.”

Jaune mulled over what he said for a while with only the sound of their training to fill the silence.

“I mean, you said it yourself. Sure she wants to do well, but she also enjoys a good fight. Maybe you should worry less about trying to force a win and focus on making sure you both have fun. If you both try your best, then there’s nothing to worry about.”

Ren hummed thoughtfully in response but didn’t say much. So Jaune tried a different angle. He dropped down from the tree and began taking his armor off.

“My Dad always used to say that time spent thinking about a problem, is time you could spend trying to fix it. If you’re so worried about winning, then let’s come up with a plan.” Jaune shouted, gesturing for Ren to come down and join him.

Jaune took all his equipment off. As Ren came down to join him, Jaune tried to remember how Fox fought.

He wouldn’t be able to replicate the bladed tonfa, but he could try to mimic the fist oriented fighting style. There were lots of circular motions that incorporated the use of elbows. When combined with his weapons, he could slash through his enemies with ease. Both arms were used in equal measure too, making it a very balanced style.

“We’ve got time. I might not be able to substitute him perfectly, but I make a pretty good sandbag with all my aura. So come at me already, and let’s see if you can’t come up with a few plans.” Said Jaune.

Ren shook his head, but he couldn’t hide the smile. “I guess I can always rely on our fearless leader to serve as a meatshield when we need him.”

For the next few hours, Ren and Jaune sparred with hand to hand and aura techniques. The training had been for Ren to create a strategy for Fox, but Jaune didn’t exactly waste his time either.

One part of his training which he had been neglecting was the use of deception and intuition. He had been using them naturally as everyone did, but he hadn’t ever devoted time to trying to improve them. This extended training with Ren was perfect for that.

Jaune focused on making a mental database of information about Ren as they fought. Early on it only served to distract him. But steadily the information started to come in handy. Little things like the way Ren over-focused on his arms when attempting a counter.

Additionally, while reading his opponent, he was trying to use feints to poke holes in Ren’s defenses. It wasn’t particularly high-level stuff though. He used his willpower to feint a different attack a moment before he committed to a real one. A skilled opponent would see through it easily, but it was good practice for learning to use feints at all.

In the end, Ren's natural skill in hand to hand won out. He landed over a hundred direct hits while Jaune only managed to get his own here and there.

“Well, you’ve certainly improved. I didn’t realize it had been so long since we trained together.” Ren said as they both slumped to the ground.

“And yet you still kicked my ass,” Jaune replied.

“I don’t suppose you brought any water with you?” Ren asked, ignoring Jaune's self-deprecation.

Jaune shook his head and slowly pushed himself back onto his feet.

“Let me get my things and we can go.” Said Jaune.

“Sounds good,” Ren said without bothering to start getting up.

It would take Jaune a few minutes to get his gear ready. He clearly planned on using that precious time to breathe.

“So what are you planning to do for your next match?” Ren eventually asked.

“I’m not sure. I don’t have to put too much thought into it though. Pyrrha wiped their whole team solo after all.” He replied.

“Cardin’s weapon isn’t going to be an issue?”

“It does a lot of damage I’m sure, but I think my defense can handle it.”

“No, I meant the dust. He has a fire dust crystal slotted in his weapon which can create explosions.” Ren explained.

Jaune tightened the last strap of his chest plate to secure his gear within it before pulling Ren onto his feet.

“I guess I didn’t think about it. I can try to prepare myself, but at the end of the day, I’ll just have to deal with it.” Jaune replied.

Ren nodded and said no more on the issue.

Together the two made their way back to the campus in comfortable silence. When they arrived, Ren made his way straight for the showers, while Jaune headed for the kitchens. He’d missed lunchtime by an hour or so and he was starving.

Jaune grabbed whatever he could find which would be quick and easy. In the end, he settled down at a table with a cold ham sandwich. Before he got to take his first bite though, he was interrupted.

“Would you mind if I sat here?” A sultry voice asked from behind.

Jaune answered before he looked, never being one to mind who sat with him. “Sure, I don’t mind.”

When he did eventually turn, he saw he was speaking with the leader of team CMSN.

She took a seat directly beside him. Just close enough for Jaune to make note of it as 'over-friendly'. She was still in her combat gear, an open leather jacket over a sarashi with tight gray pants. She crossed her legs under the table, brushing her foot along his leg for a brief second.

“Your performance today certainly didn’t match what I’d heard about you Jaune.” She casually stated.

Jaune put down his sandwich, to observe the woman beside him a little more closely. She had chosen to sit directly next to him instead of at any of the empty tables. The way she struck up a conversation meant she wasn’t just here to eat.

“Not to sound rude, but I’m not as familiar with the names of other contestants as you seem to be.” Jaune politely mentioned.

“My apologies.” She offered Jaune a hand to shake which Jaune took. “My name is Cinder.”

“Right, nice to meet you Cinder. As for what you’ve heard about me, it probably wasn’t all wrong. I still struggle to compete with a lot of my friends. It feels like I’m just an ordinary guy surrounded by prodigies sometimes.” He said, replying to her first statement.

“Oh? I thought your performance today was very impressive. I’d hardly call you ordinary.” Cinder said, accentuating her point with a wink.

Jaune awkwardly looked away and tried to focus on his lunch.

“I think most women would agree with me too.” She added, distracting him once more.

“’Most women’?” he asked.

“Most people, a slip of the tongue.” She replied, before licking some yogurt off the back of her spoon. “You’re quite famous thanks to that little interview of yours. ‘The Vanguard of the Breach’ wasn’t it? And the apprentice of Beacon’s headmaster too. What’s that like, I simply must know.”

“It’s... normal, I guess? He’s fairly busy most of the time.”

“I imagine he would be, especially with incidents like this morning.” She said, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

Jaune was used to hanging around with attractive girls. He was dating one of them and Yang was a constant factor. But he wasn’t used to the attention he was receiving right now. She hung off his every word, listening intently and watching him closely. For a stranger, she was showing more interest than he considered normal.

“You saw that too huh?” Jaune asked.

He felt Cinder’s foot brush along his leg once again, so gave her a little more space by shuffling over a few inches.

“A team member did. He told quite the captivating tale.” She explained.

“I see.” Jaune awkwardly replied, cutting the conversation short.

For a time they both ate in relative silence. Cinder fiddled with her scroll as she ate, while Jaune tried to keep his eyes off of the woman next to him. He wasn’t even doing anything, but just by sitting next to him, she made him feel guilty of something. His friends were attractive, but rarely did they seem to weaponize it quite like she was.

“Tell me Jaune.” She suddenly spoke after leaning closer to him. “I know we don’t know each other that well, but I feel like you’re the type to always help a girl in need. If I had a favor to ask, would you be willing to help me?”

“That depends on the favor, I think?” Jaune replied, nearly stumbling over his words.

“Nothing too strenuous I assure you. I was hoping for a simple spar.”

“A spar? With me? Shouldn’t you worry about your next match?”

“A Faunus girl by the name of Velvet and a large man with an even larger sword. I was hoping you might substitute the latter. I promise I could make it... worth your while.”

“I guess I could do that...” Jaune answered.

He would be able to find time for one quick spar in the evening surely.

“Wonderful, would 6 o’clock suffice? Or would you prefer something later?” She asked with a smile.

“6 is fine.” He instantly responded. For some reason the thought of meeting with her much later than that spelled trouble.

Jaune grabbed his half-eaten lunch and stood up. Cinder rose to match.

“Thank you Jaune, I do appreciate your help.” She said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Jaune merely nodded before leaving. He tossed his dishes in the sink and rushed away in the direction of the dorms.

He didn’t know whether he was reading into things too much because he was inexperienced. Regardless, he began to feel almost guilty for giving in to it and agreeing to meet with her again later. Guilty enough that he decided it was something he had to tell Pyrrha about.

When he reached their dorm, she was already there, watching the match replays on her scroll.

“Oh, hello Jaune.” She happily greeted as she noticed him come in.

“Hey, Pyrr. Can I ask you something?” He wasn’t going to waste any time in broaching this subject.

“Is everything okay?” She asked in turn.

“I’m fine, it’s just... Ok look, don’t be upset okay?” She nodded. “I think a girl might have just been coming onto me.”

Pyrrha looked almost amused. “Why would I be upset about that. It wouldn’t be the first time another girl has seen what I see. There was that time on our date if you recall?”

He didn’t.

“Ok well, the thing is that I may have agreed to spar with her this evening too.” He added, pre-emptively steadying himself for Pyrrha to turn on him.

“Okay?” she replied.

“’Okay’?” he parroted.

“Jaune are you going there for anything other than sparring?” She asked.

“No! No it’s just sparring, she asked for a favor and I just answered before thinking. Please don’t be mad!” He panicked.

“Then it’s fine.”

“It is?”

“Jaune, contrary to what you may believe, not all girls will be driven to madness if you spend time with other girls. You said nothing is going on and you’re way too worked up over this to be lying. I trust you.” She calmly explained.

“Even though-”

“Yes, even though you seem to think she might be interested. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of men out there who would fancy trying their luck with me you know?”

Jaune frowned. “There are?”

“Yes, there are.” She said, flicking him in the forehead. “Did that never occur to you before now?”

Jaune shook his head and she sighed. “Well, look. You have to trust me not to race off and jump into the arms of the first boy who calls me pretty. I think it’s fair that I can trust you not to make out with the first girl to laugh at your jokes or whatever she did.”

Jaune nodded, letting the knowledge sink in.

“You’re really smart, you know that Pyrrha?” he finally responded.

“Unfortunately, I think this might be one of those times where you're just being stupid.” She countered.

“You still love me anyway though, right?” Jaune cheekily asked, stepping closer to his partner.

Her eyebrows rose ever so slightly in response to his movement. Her lips curved at the ends from a smile that she was trying to conceal.

“You certainly have your moments that make it worthwhile.” She teased, placing a hand on his chest that weakly kept him at bay.

Jaune placed both of his hands just below her corset where the skin of her waist was just barely visible. He pulled himself closer to her and she allowed him to with a laugh. She brought both hands over his shoulders, giving up on her false defense entirely.

“Is this one of them?” He asked before planting a short kiss on her lips.

She trusted him so completely and managed to dissolve his worries so easily. It was just another reminder of how great his partner was. This deeper appreciation of his partner drove him to act more boldly than he usually would.

“I’m not sure. It’s a little too early to tell.” She coyly replied.

Jaune could barely wait for her to finish her response before taking her lips once more. He could feel the vibration through her lips as she hummed appreciatively. After several more seconds, she broke away once more.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to be training? You’re wasting precious time before the tournament you know?” she asked.

“I’d hardly call it wasted.” He replied, causing her to lightly snort.

She kissed him once more before giving him a gentle push away.

“Me neither. Still, as nice as this is, it’s the middle of the day. I’d rather not have people interrupt us in the middle of something like this.” She explained when he put on an expression like that of a kicked puppy.

Jaune had to admit that was a good reason, even if he wished it wasn’t.

“Then how about we go on a date? I’ve missed you if I haven’t made that obvious.” Jaune asked.

“Are you just asking me on a date in the hopes that you can take me somewhere more private?” She asked, catching him completely.

“Yes?” He honestly responded.

She smirked. “Very well then. Tonight, at seven o’clock. You can meet me at the cliff over the docks and we can have ourselves a date. One with absolute privacy so we can finish what we’ve started.”

“Wait, really?” Jaune asked.

She nodded. “Mhm. And all you have to do is be there on time. Aren’t you lucky?”

“The luckiest man on Remnant.” He honestly answered once more.

Pyrrha laughed, loudly too.

She planted a final kiss on his cheek then pushed him completely out of her way as she went to exit the dorm.

“I doubt you would, but don’t forget. Seven o’clock by the docks. I’m going to run a few errands, so I’ll see you then.” Said Pyrrha.

“Right, I’m looking forward to it!”

**/-/**

Several hours later when his aura and body were recovered, Jaune made his way to the training grounds. Despite turning up early, he wasn’t the first person there. Cinder and two of her teammates were there already warming up. As he walked in, Cinder must have heard or seen him, as she was quick to react.

“Jaune, I’m glad to see you made it. I was worried that you might have gotten nervous.” She said with a hint of a laugh. “These are my team members, Mercury and Emerald. I hope you don’t mind if they watch.”

“That shouldn’t be an issue. How do you want to do this? I could try to emulate the style of your opponent if you want, or I could just spar normally.” Jaune asked.

“If you could, that would be quite helpful.”

Jaune nodded.

Yatsu fought with a sword much larger than his own, but he could still try to use a two-handed style. Jaune wore more armor than Yatsu did, but it wasn’t much more, plus he could call it a trade-off for his missing reach.

Jaune placed his shield and scroll down on a bench near Cinder’s team and made his way onto the field.

“Ready when you are I suppose,” Jaune stated as he quickly stretched out his arms.

Cinder merely nodded with a smile before she began to calmly close the distance between them. Just like in her previous match, she didn’t seem to be in any rush.

Jaune didn’t know much about Yatsuhashi’s temperament in battle. He assumed that with a weapon like that, he wouldn’t be the type to play passively.

Thus, Jaune crossed the remaining distance himself with a strong overhead blow. He had seen Yatsu use this technique to destabilize the terrain once before. With pure strength alone he wouldn’t be able to pull off a feat like that, so he bridged the gap with his aura.

He hadn’t tried to use his aura emission for anything other than a slash before, so the visualization was a bit weak. Nevertheless, he managed to cause much of the training grounds sand to fly up. A small shockwave reverberated from where he struck.

Cinder had side-stepped the overhead blow easily enough. The shockwave however must have come as a surprise, because she lost her footing for an instant. Just enough time for Jaune to transition into a full 360-degree spinning slash.

Cinder absorbed the impact of his blow by jumping up and kicking off his sword. The force of his swing sent her flying, but she twisted in mid-air like a cat and landed on her feet. Jaune quickly checked the aura display to see that the damage taken was minimal.

“Well, you certainly don’t disappoint. It’s one surprise after another with you Jaune. I don’t think anyone knows that you are capable of aura techniques like that.” Cinder said, sounding genuinely impressed.

“You too, your timing had to be perfect to pull that off. Not to mention the confidence you need to even attempt it in the first place. I have to ask though, why choose to create distance when you’re fast enough to duck and enter my reach? I would have thought getting into my range would be your plan.” Jaune asked.

Cinder slowly walked back towards Jaune. “Because of my class, you mean? Fighters like me indeed thrive in close-quarters, especially since I’m fighting unarmed. But there’s nothing wrong with playing it safe, is there? Now I know a little bit more about you, so I can plan to deal with you.”

That sounded like a threat if he ever heard one. He hadn’t expected Cinder to be the type for mid-combat trash talking.

“It’ll take a bit more than some fancy acrobatics to deal with me.”

“Oh, I know.” She confidently replied.

This time, Cinder was the one to engage.

Jaune brought his sword across her chest, only for her to grab a hand that held his sword and force his blade off course. Before he could respond, she landed a palm strike to the very tip of his chin.

Jaune’s brain was rattled, though his aura was largely untouched. In his confusion, she managed to disarm him and bring Crocea Mors down on the back of his knees. She finished up by planting her knee directly into his nose. Even with aura, the force of the strike was enough to cause a small nosebleed and knock him flat on his back.

“This sword of yours is deceptively heavy Jaune. Is that your Semblance perhaps? Control over density? Or maybe something more like localized gravity changes?” Cinder asked with a predatory smile.

She tossed his sword onto the ground near him and waited for him to get back up.

“It’s a family secret,” Jaune answered as he stood back up.

He corrected his nose back into alignment so that his aura could heal it properly.

“Always the man of mystery, aren’t you Jaune?”

_Fighting just like Yatsu with only my sword isn’t going to work. I need to mix in a few more things._

Jaune gestured to continue with their spar and Cinder responded by moving in once more.

When she entered his reach, Jaune repeated the same attack, but this time, he only used one hand. As she had last time, she easily dodged his slash. Having expected her to do exactly that, Jaune was ready with his free hand.

Jaune slammed his palm into her throat, grabbing her around the neck and he tried to lift her off the ground. She cooperated instantly and lifted her legs. Like a snake, coiling around its prey she wrapped around Jaune’s arm and neck, causing him to fall forward.

With both her hands on his wrist and her legs holding both his neck and elbow, Jaune was utterly locked in place.

So Jaune for the first time this fight began to activate his muscle augmentation. It was clear that Cinder was physically strong and fast enough to warrant it.

With his new strength, Jaune slowly straightened his back and lifted her off the ground once more. Furthermore, he lifted her entire body above his head with a single arm. Then in one swift motion, he threw her down onto the ground.

She rolled through the impact, though it was clear she hadn’t gotten out unscathed.

Jaune chased after her, ready to follow up with a string of attacks. Rather than retreat, she instead caught him in the stomach with the heel of her boots. Her kick stopped Jaune in his place, while gave her the push she needed to create some more distance.

She was good, easily as good as Pyrrha in hand-to-hand. Which was what had Jaune so curious.

“Why don’t you use a weapon? You’re not a monk, you’re a fighter. Surely you must have a few weapon skills.” Jaune asked.

“I do indeed have a few.” She replied.

“Then, why? Even if we forget about the tournament, fighting Grimm must be a nightmare without a weapon.”

Cinder slowly approached, entering his range once more. Jaune held back on the urge to lash out, suspecting that she wasn’t approaching to attack. Fortunately, it turned out he was right.

“Are you curious about me Jaune? Or is this the famous Jaune Arc concern that my teammates have heard about?” she teased.

In her heels she stood a few inches shorter than Jaune, but yet she somehow still appeared to be looking down on him. Her golden orbs sparkled, inviting him to try something.

Instead, he stepped back. “Just curious. Even my teammate, a monk, has a weapon.”

“Since you’re so curious, I’d be more than happy to answer a few questions. Why don’t we return to my dorm and we can... chat for a while?”

“What about the spar? That was little more than a few seconds of actual fighting.” Jaune asked, deflecting her invitation.

She looked almost annoyed. “Yes, well, despite the length, I got what I needed from it. You were quite helpful.”

“I see...” Jaune lied. He couldn’t even begin to understand what she could have gained from that. “Well then, I’m glad I could help.”

“Mhm. The offer still stands though Jaune. Any time is fine. You’ll find I can be quite... flexible.” She said with a wink.

Jaune coughed once, looking away.

_It’s probably best to make things clear._

“I’ll keep that in mind. For now, though, I’ve got a date with my girlfriend. Thank you for the spar.” He said to Cinder before walking to collect his gear. “Nice to meet you both as well Emerald, Mercury.”

Jaune wasted no time in getting out of there before she could make him feel any more awkward than he already did.

**/-/**

After his post-training shower, Jaune threw on a simple pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. He couldn’t imagine this was going to be a formal-wear event if they were meeting outside at night time. Though there was the small voice in his head that worried otherwise.

Just as they had on every date prior, he packed his sword. He doubted he would need it this close to Beacon, but the stray Grimm wasn’t impossible. He was certain Pyrrha would do the same.

Making some excuses for where he was going, Jaune left Ren and Nora to have the room to themselves. He doubted either of them believed him. But it was always worth the effort of trying when it came to mitigating any potential mockery.

He would be early if he left now, but he didn’t imagine Pyrrha would mind too much. If anything, it just gave them more time before they would inevitably have to return.

As he walked, he began to notice a faint glow in the distance, right where he was expecting to meet Pyrrha.

The closer he got, and the more that glow grew. It wasn’t some far-away spotlight of some fishing boat, but the small flame of a campfire.

_Is this her idea of a date? It has to be on purpose, she wouldn’t just forget, but it doesn’t make sense._

A large tent was set up nearby and within it, he could see the silhouette of his partner moving.

“Hey Pyrr, I’m here!” He announced.

“Oh! Jaune, you’re a bit early.” She replied, reversing herself out of the tent.

Casual clothes had been a good choice. She had chosen to wear a black cotton crop-top and her usual skirt minus the red sash. Jaune couldn’t help but admire the way she looked. The simple outfit let her body do all the work.

“You’re using that nickname quite a lot, I’ve noticed.” She added, simultaneously reminding him not to stare.

“You don’t mind, do you? I just... I don’t know, it felt like a thing to do.” He tried to explain.

“No, I don’t mind, though I must admit that it makes things a little uneven. I don’t have one for you. Nora owns the rights to ‘fearless leader’. ‘Loverboy’, ‘Vomitboy’, and ‘Jauney’ are similarly taken by Yang, Ruby, and Cardin.” Jaune physically cringed. She laughed. “It is nice to have a nickname that doesn’t allude to my class or track record for a change though.”

Jaune nodded and looked around again. Pyrrha had put a lot of work into this.

A log had been dragged from who knows where to form a makeshift bench for them to sit at. A small basket of supplies was sitting just inside the entrance of the tent.

“So, what’s all this about anyway?” He asked, half wondering about the fire, and half about the entire setup.

“Well...” she interlaced her fingers behind her back as she made her way over to Jaune. “We were supposed to go on a mission to an outskirt town. I was quite looking to spending a few nights camping out with you, Nora, and Ren. But then the Breach happened, and you went away for a few weeks, so we missed out. I thought maybe we could make up for the lost time and have ourselves a campout with just the two of us.”

_Wait, a campout... As in..._

Jaune leaned to get a better look within the tent. Sure enough, there was a bedroll in there, waiting to be unrolled.

“That explains the fire I suppose. Not much of a camp without a campfire.” Jaune replied.

“You don’t mind do you?” She looked genuinely worried. “If it’s an issue I can put it out. Dinner is already ready, so we don’t need it. It might get cold though.”

“It’s fine.” He half lied. “You wanted it to be authentic. You’ve done a good job. It looks like something from a camping magazine.”

She suppressed an awkward laugh with a cough. “That would be because it was from a magazine. My class came in ‘super handy’ like always and I had quite a rough time setting things up even with the guide. Fortunately, the pages made for decent tinder, so that helped.”

Jaune laughed. Pyrrha’s class really did seem to have a hand in her inability to do anything unrelated to combat. He still vividly remembered the absolute mess she made in the kitchen the morning of the Breach.

If something could go wrong, it seemed to. Which only made it more impressive to see how well she had done in setting all this up. Chances were; she had started on this as soon as she left.

“Are you hungry?” she asked after silencing his laughter with a light slap on the arm.

“I could eat, sure. What does Chef Nikos have prepared for tonight?” Jaune mockingly asked.

She grabbed the basket from nearby the tent and pulled him to sit down next to her using the log as a backrest.

As distracting and nerve-frying as the fire was, he couldn’t deny that its warmth was welcome. The night air was cold, and neither of them had dressed particularly warmly. Pyrrha was clearly feeling the cold too. She sat as close to him as she could, leaning into his chest with her shoulder. Jaune wrapped his arm around her to offer her that slightest extra bit of comfort, and she accepted it with a smile.

“As you know, I’m an expert in cooking. So I picked one of the more intricate dishes on Remnant.” She sarcastically replied. “Sandwiches.”

She pulled a small container out of the basket in which sat four rectangle-shaped sandwiches.

“All jokes aside, tell me what you think? I’m almost certain I got it right this time.” She said, offering him one.

_This time, as in she tried to make these more than once?_

He took the offered slice and looked it over. It was an egg salad sandwich if he had to guess. How much could go wrong with that?

He took a bite, not wanting to spend too much time doubting her ability lest he hurt her feelings. The bread was fresh and the eggs were well cooked. Based on the sweetness, he had a sinking suspicion she might have mistaken the salt for the sugar. It was weird, but not inedible, so he took another bite. A small crunch revealed the presence of an eggshell.

“How is it?” She asked with her emotions written all over her face.

“It’s perfect.” He lied. “Whoever said Pyrrha Nikos can’t make a sandwich is a rotten liar.”

Jaune took another bite to further his point. The smile she gave him in response was worth the slightly bizarre flavor. Of course, when she took out one for herself and took a bite, he knew he’d been caught out.

“Oh wow. This is...” she paused as Jaune took another bite and swallowed it down. “How are you eating that with a straight face. These are bad.”

He shrugged. “My Mom made some pretty weird foods when she was pregnant with my younger sisters. Cravings or something. Dad always said that when it comes to eating food from the girl you like, you always say it’s perfect and clean the plate.”

“Even when it isn’t?” She asked.

“Especially when it isn’t!”

Pyrrha snorted and put the food away. Clearly, she didn’t want to torture him with it any further, even if he seemed willing. Jaune still decided to finish the piece he had been given, if only because he was stubborn.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, enjoying the comfort and the warmth of each other’s bodies.

“So you never did end up telling us anything about your Semblance.” Pyrrha finally said.

“There’s a good reason for that. I don’t understand it myself.” He replied. Pyrrha waited for him to elaborate. “It’s like a weird combination of my parents that only works occasionally. I’ve tried drawing on it since the last time, but nothing happens.”

“What are your parent’s Semblances then?” she asked.

“My father’s aura is denser than normal, which makes all his aura techniques more potent. Meanwhile, my mother has way more aura than normal and she can charge up others like a battery.”

“Hmmm, so then your Semblance is having a lot of strong aura?” she asked.

“Something like that. I’d say I only have access to 30% of my aura at any given time though. Without the rest, I can’t make my aura stronger than normal. But I can only seem to use the rest of my aura when I’m desperate.” He explained.

“Simple but effective, it suits you. You just need to learn to control it now.”

“Wait, who are you calling simple.” He joked.

Suddenly, a piece of firewood cracked, sending sparks into the air. Jaune’s good mood was instantly soured as he was forced to try and refocus and slow his breathing.

“You know, I had planned for us to use our time away on our mission to help you with that,” Pyrrha stated.

“Well, we’re here.” He said, dragging his eyes away from the flames to look at his partner. “Why not give it a go?”

He had forgotten what her plan for helping him was. The conversation they’d had about it had been a while ago now. So when she shrugged and said ‘Okay’ he wasn’t fully prepared for what came next.

Pyrrha changed positions to straddle his legs.

“Pyrrha?!” Jaune suddenly asked in shock.

“It’s like I told you. We just have to overwrite your memories of what happened with new ones.”

“Yeah, but I thought we agreed that-” Jaune said, slowly trying to hide his face from his partner.

“Technically I didn’t agree to anything. And besides, I told you last time. I wouldn’t do these sorts of things if I didn’t want to. Aren’t you interested as well?” she interrupted, pulling him by the chin to make him look at her.

“Pyrrha...”

“It wasn’t easy you know? We started dating, then the Breach happened, and then you went away for two whole weeks. I’ve missed you. We used to spar every day, now I’m lucky if I get to talk to you before bed. Can you blame me for wanting to make the most of any time we have together?” She said with no small amount of desperation in her voice.

Truth be told, Jaune wasn’t as immune to his hormones as he might have liked to be. He had been raised not to rush into things by his parents. To not treat women with disrespect or only appreciate them for their bodies.

But was this the same thing?

Pyrrha and he had known each other for a year now. They were friends first and lovers second. They’ve held hands, hugged, kissed. They've even shared things about themselves that they wouldn't share with anyone else. Was it so farfetched to imagine that this was the next step?

Jaune didn’t know. But he did know that it was what Pyrrha seemed to want, and he wasn’t the type of man to disappoint.

Jaune placed his hands upon her thighs just below the fabric of her skirt. Her skin prickled instantly from his touch.

She took it as a sign that she had won him over, and she took her prize gleefully.

When their lips met, it wasn’t like any of the other times they had kissed. No more butterflies or comforting warmth in his stomach, instead, he felt fireworks. An inferno that burned far hotter than any campfire. Every moment of contact left him hungrier for more. He breathed in as much oxygen as he could with every break, fuelling that flame that grew within him.

Pyrrha was more than happy to make up for her lack of skill and experience with enthusiasm. No doubt her lips must be bruising like his own from the way they clashed. But she mustn’t have noticed. She was too preoccupied running her hands through Jaune’s hair and pulling on his shirt. Trying desperately to close all distance between them.

It wasn’t long before even the thin barrier of Jaune’s shirt had become too great an obstacle. She ran her hands under his shirt, marking everything she touched as her own.

Finally, as she ran her hands up over the dense musculature of his chest, she lifted the shirt over his head. The action forced them to take their first real pause. Jaune’s chest heaved and his heartbeat in his chest as the adrenaline flowed through his veins.

“I thought so.” Pyrrha breathed, before silencing herself with Jaune’s mouth once more.

“What?” Jaune asked as he transferred his attention from her lips to her neck. His efforts elicited a gasp of approval from his partner.

“You looked bigger after you came back from training with your family. You were c-“ Jaune nipped at her neck causing her to shiver in delight. “-cute when we first met. But now... You’ve got the body of a huntsman.”

Her words stirred something within Jaune. The simple admission that she found his body desirable was enough to bring him pleasure. He wanted to hear her say more. He wanted to hear her gasp as he left marks across her skin.

Yet at the same time, he wanted to share with her the way she made him feel. He wanted her to hear just how he felt too.

“You’ve always-ah!” the blatant smirk on her face betrayed the fact that she had intentionally bitten him that hard. No doubt revenge for the countless smaller ones he had given her. “You’ve always been this hot. I have to try all the time to keep my eyes off you Pyrrha.”

She grabbed both of his hands as she pulled away from him, placing them both on her stomach.

Perhaps he hadn’t been as subtle as he thought he’d been. Her toned abs from years of training and the way they moved when she fought had always caught his eye. The two-inch strip of flesh tucked between her armor and her sash was a delicacy for Jaune, and it seems she was aware of it.

“You don’t have to keep your eyes off me anymore.” She stated.

In one fluid move, she took off her top, revealing porcelain skin and red silk. “You don’t have to keep your hands off me either if you don’t want to.”

Jaune needed no further guidance than that.

He flipped his partner, pushing her back into their makeshift backrest. He was hesitant at first. But as his partner's breath caught from his ministrations his vigor grew.

It was safe to say that Jaune had no issue placing his back to the fire that had occupied so much of his attention. Instead, it took all of his willpower to try and retain his self-control while faced with Pyrrha’s flawless body.

His lips fell lower and lower until there wasn’t enough room for both his hands and his lips. So he instead boldly grabbed a handful of her thigh and used it to pull himself against her.

Were it not for her aura, he was certain he would have already left a trail of purple and red from her jaw to her chest. But he couldn’t bring himself to care. What little marks he left would be gone by morning, so he was free to be as giving as he wanted.

“Jaune...” Pyrrha purred. “Jaune, stop for a second.”

As deeply entrenched as he was in his growing desire, he immediately stopped. Though it was almost physically painful to do so, he pulled himself away and looked back to her face.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

“No.” She laughed. “No, you were doing something very right as far as I'm concerned. I wanted to say that maybe we should get a bit more privacy.”

She gestured to the tent nearby. Somehow he had forgotten that they were both on campus grounds, half-dressed and covered in sweat. What little privacy the thin fabric of their tent gave would go a long way compared to the open air.

Pyrrha busied herself gathering his shirt as well as the top that she had thrown aside. This left Jaune to set up the bedroll as fast as he could manage. He knew he probably looked a bit desperate in his haste, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Pyrrha entered behind him just after he had finished and began zipping up the tent door.

She barely got halfway before Jaune wrapped his arms around her from behind. Jaune started lovingly kissing the skin on the back of her neck and shoulders.

“Jaune...” she sounded like she was trying to scold him for interrupting her before she was finished. Try as she might though, she seemed unable to stop herself from melting into him.

“Jaune.” She finally said with enough authority to stop him. “Your belt buckle is digging into me a little bit.”

She finished zipping up the tent while Jaune spared a glance at the buckle of his belt. He was frustrated that such a little thing had gotten in the road.

“Sorry.” He apologized, not knowing what else to say.

“It’s okay.” She replied, turning to face him. “That’s easily fixed.”

Pyrrha pulled him closer via his waistband and began to fumble with his belt. Her fingers slowly managed to navigate the buckle from a position they weren’t used to. Meanwhile, she began to return the favor from earlier, by planting kisses down his chest. First his collar bone, then along his sternum.

When the belt came loose she pulled it free entirely. Without even trying to come up with an explanation she began to work on the button of his jeans next.

Jaune quickly grabbed her hands.

“Pyrrha?” Jaune asked in surprise once he realized. “Are you sure you want to go this far tonight?”

He certainly wasn’t against the idea anymore. Frankly, the way she had gone for it would have been proof enough normally. But he didn’t want her to feel like she had to keep going just because they’d come this far. He wanted her to know she could back out at any moment if his hunger became too much for her.

“Nora sleeps in her underwear all the time.” She rationalized, looking him in the eyes without a trace of hesitation.

He let go of her hands, and she popped the button of his jeans, pulling at the sides to slide him out of them. Once he was completely freed of the excess clothing she began to work on unzipping her skirt.

“Wait.” Jaune suddenly said.

He hadn’t expected himself to say this, but now that he had, he needed to explain himself.

“Can you...”

“Jaune?” Pyrrha asked, sounding concerned.

“Can you leave the skirt on? I’ve always thought you looked really... hot with it.” He finally explained. Somehow, asking his partner to keep some of her clothing on was the most embarrassing thing so far.

“You think it makes me look hot?” She asked, audibly teasing him in his embarrassment.

“I think you always look hot!” he corrected. “The skirt just makes you look even better.”

She hummed, tapping a finger on her chin to play on the obvious acting.

“Since you asked nicely.” She smirked, re-zipping the skirt properly.

Between the need to collect their things, set up the bedroll, and Jaune’s sudden request, they had calmed down. At least, enough to stop them from instantly jumping back at each other.

Jaune’s eyes looked around for anything to talk about. Anything that could get things moving once more. He eventually settled on the bedroll.

“Do you want to get under the covers?” he asked, lifting them.

She laughed at his obvious attempt but joined him under the covers anyway.

Pyrrha’s index finger lazily drew circles across his chest as she stared at his face. The spark in her eyes was daring him to make the next move.

He happily obliged by grabbing her by her lower back and pulling her closer to him. Her legs tangled with his own as she wrapped herself around him.

The smell of her sweat was hypnotic, it washed over him and filled his senses, making it impossible to think. Acting on pure instinct he grazed his tongue against her lips. When they parted, inviting him inside he slowly explored the entirety of his partner’s mouth. The softness of her tongue as she pushed and twisted against him was all he could concentrate on.

Her hands reached up once more. One ran through his hair at the base of his skull and the other traced the lines of his chest. She pulled on his hair, desperate for something to brace herself with. Jaune too kept himself steady by gently holding Pyrrha’s neck and running his thumb along her jawline.

“I don’t know if this counts as training anymore Pyrrha.” Jaune breathed. “I’m not even thinking about the fire anymore.”

“What fire?” she joked.

“Who cares?” he honestly replied as he slid his hand up her back.

He tried to unclasp her bra, only to realize it was just as difficult, if not more so than his buckle had been. Pyrrha waited for him as he unhooked and somehow rehooked the clasp for several seconds.

“Here.” She said with a laugh.

Pyrrha disentangled herself from him, letting him roll onto his back. When he did, she pushed back the covers and straddled his lower body. With practiced ease, she released the clasp and pulled both straps down her shoulders. Without the support it once had, the front of dipped down, exposing her to him fully.

“You’re beautiful.” Was his instant and only response.

Pyrrha leaned forward to kiss him once more, sliding her hips back as she did so.

“Ah...” she suddenly moaned.

She brought her hips forward, and back once more, grinding along his lower body. Her hands grabbed at his skin tightly, nails digging into his flesh with enough force to leave deep marks.

Over and over, back and forth she moved her hips bringing herself, and Jaune, no small amount of pleasure.

Not wanting to sit there passively, he sat up and kissed her in all the new and exciting places she had shown him.

She mewled, and sped up her gyration, proving that his efforts were not going unappreciated. Finding her most sensitive spots, he kissed and sucked. Anything to hear Pyrrha make more of those noises he was becoming addicted to.

With his left hand, he caressed her upper body, gently cupping, and pressing her flesh.

With his other hand, he supported her backside. Helping her to drive into him with more pressure, something she was more than willing to do. Until finally, her whole body froze and began to shudder.

She almost crushed Jaune between her legs as she desperately tried to gather her thighs. No more was she repeating his name or moaning. Instead, she was breathlessly gasping as if she had lost the ability to speak or breathe.

And then almost as soon as it had begun, her body went loose. She seemed more relaxed than he had ever seen her.

She lowered herself down next to him, so Jaune grabbed the covers to cover them both.

“That was...” Pyrrha started.

“ ‘Wow’?” Jaune attempted to finish her sentence.

She merely nodded.

She tilted her chin up to bring her face close to his, wanting to kiss him once again.

It was slower, though with no less emotion. Jaune placed a hand on her backside and gave it a quick squeeze and she giggled.

Time passed though neither knew how much as they simply partook in each other. Before they knew it, as the adrenaline faded, they had fallen asleep.


	39. Chapter 32 Unedited

The early morning sunlight filtered through the tent walls. It stirred Jaune into consciousness, waking him from a dream he hoped would never end.

To his great pleasure, upon opening his eyes, he realized that it had not been a dream at all.

His partner was still asleep beside him, wrapped in his arms.

He ran his hand across her body, kissing the skin of her neck and conjuring a small smile on her face.

She rolled to face him and opened her eyes slowly, still waking up herself.

“Good morning,” Pyrrha said as she tilted her face up to his.

Jaune brought himself down, gently taking her lips with his. “Good morning to you too.”

Pyrrha yawned before sitting up and stretching. She knocked the covers off in the process. It had slipped his mind that they had fallen asleep in this state of undress.

“Beautiful...” Jaune whispered.

“Flatterer.” Said Pyrrha as she looked down at her partner.

“Seriously, it should be illegal to look like that.” Jaune continued.

She made it look effortless. She seemed unphased by everything that had happened like everything was as it should be. Jaune still struggled to believe it had been real. Last night he had been acting on instinct, relying on her reactions to guide him. Meanwhile, she always knew what she wanted and how to act. She always seemed in control.

“Where did you learn all of that?” he asked.

“The same place as anyone, I guess?” she replied, lying back down beside him.

“Walking in on your parents and sisters?”

“The internet,” She corrected. “Sex is a great form of stress relief. Not that I’d had a partner until now.”

“You mean you...?” Jaune asked eagerly.

Pyrrha nodded with a small blush already forming. “Less often now, since we share a living space. That’s one of the few things that really took some getting used to. The shower is always good for some privacy though.”

She hadn’t even gone into detail, but the mere idea of it excited him. Based on her expression, it seems she noticed. It would be hard not to with him pressing into her core like he was.

“It’s not like you’re any different. I’ve heard boys are much worse actually,” she asked.

“Probably. I’ve always lived with people; seven sisters, and both parents with no locks on our bedroom doors.” He replied. “So...”

“Wait, never?” she asked in genuine shock.

Jaune nodded. “I never really felt I needed to. Training was always an outlet for me and it was enough. Most nights I go to bed so tired that I fall asleep instantly.”

Pyrrha hummed to herself thoughtfully.

Suddenly, from under the covers, he felt her hand grasp him, squeezing gently.

“P-Pyrrha!” Jaune stammered.

“Can I?” She asked. “I won’t if you don’t want me to. I know you want to take things slow. I tried to keep things in check last night, though I did get a little bit carried away.”

“Does that mean you enjoyed it?” Jaune asked.

“Are you kidding? Jaune, I loved it. Sure there were a few stumbles, like when you couldn’t get my bra off.”

“In my defense-”

“But” she interrupted. “You more than made up for it. Not just with effort, but your reactions too. I might not have seemed it but I was pretty nervous too, you know? But you helped me feel in control.”

Pyrrha’s hand slowly slipped under the elastic of his waistband. She freed him and began to slowly stroke her hand.

She brought her lips to his, opening his mouth with her tongue and taking charge. Jaune could only try his best to respond in kind.

He placed his hand on her inner thigh and she slowly adjusted her legs for him.

“Can I?” he asked, mirroring her question from earlier.

Pyrrha nodded, and so he cautiously began to touch her. Even over the fabric, he could feel her growing readiness.

“So you’ve never watched anything either?” She asked and he shook his head. “Do you want me to show you how?”

Jaune nodded. He had no idea what he was doing, so he was more than ready to be shown exactly how she liked it.

Pyrrha lowered her remaining clothes, baring herself under the covers. She took his hand and guided it to touch her.

“Here.” She said, running his fingers across two particularly sensitive areas.

Pyrrha then retook him in her hand and continued steadily working him over.

Jaune started simple and slow, sliding a single finger up and down her entrance. She moaned into his mouth, so he continued, trying to find her most sensitive spots.

He soon found it. A button which, when pressed, would instantly have his partner squirming.

It wasn’t long at all before Pyrrha was pressing against his hand with the weight of her body. Her body was begging for him to act with more force. He responded by inserting his finger and massaging the flesh within.

Less time was spent kissing as she seemed to lose her ability to move with any form of control. Jaune made sure to turn his lips and teeth to her neck. He wanted to ensure that every part of her body was being given the attention it deserved.

Soon, her hand which had been moving faster released him and grabbed onto the fabric of the bedroll. Her back arched and she squeezed around his fingers with such force that he could barely move them.

“No fair.” She gasped as she finally collapsed.

As Jaune waited for her to catch her breath, a scroll alarm sounded beside them.

“Shoot!” Pyrrha suddenly cursed. “I'm sorry Jaune, it's time to get dressed. If we want to pack all this up, have a shower, and eat something before the tournament we need to get moving now. I promise you'll get a turn another time.”

Jaune grabbed his clothes and got dressed, though not before watching Pyrrha do so. He soaked in the sight of her naked form, committing it to memory with as much brainpower as he could muster.

Jaune went outside and stamped out the campfire while she dismantled the tent. He also picked up the log and dragged it back to where it had come from.

Together they both raced back to Beacon as quickly and quietly as they could. Jaune headed straight for the communal showers, letting Pyrrha head back by herself. It was both a calculated attempt to save time and to avoid returning together.

When he finally made it back to the dorm, he caught Pyrrha being grilled by Nora while Ren sat politely to the side.

Jaune spared a sympathetic look for Pyrrha and mouthed ‘sorry’. He grabbed what he needed and ducked into the bathroom. Jaune wasn’t about to throw himself under the bus by trying to distract Nora.

Nora didn’t let up for the several minutes he was in there. So when he finally came out, Jaune gave it his best attempt to help Pyrrha out.

“Hey Ren, want to go get started on breakfast? I’m starving.”

No sooner than he had uttered the ‘b’ word, Nora seemed to forget everything she had been saying. Instead, she made sure to list all the toppings she wanted this morning. They were safe for now.

**/-/**

Breakfast had come and gone with no drama. Yang’s keen intuition for gossip almost got them caught though.

Pyrrha and Jaune were first up according to the match schedule. So, he was once again waiting in the center of the arena.

“Hey, Jaune!” Cardin called out from the other side. He beckoned Jaune to come closer and approached the very center himself.

It wasn’t against the rules per se to speak with your opponents before a match, though it wasn’t common either. Still, Cardin wouldn’t try anything illegal in front of everyone like this, so he obliged.

“Yeah?” Jaune asked.

“Care to do me a favor Jauney-Boy?” Cardin asked.

“What favor?”

“Your partner over there wiped our whole team by herself. How about you leave her out of this and give us a fighting chance?”

There was no way this wasn’t a ploy. He served to gain nothing by letting them outnumber him. If they had some sort of plan for taking out Pyrrha, they would have to do it when he wasn’t around to interrupt them.

With that said.

“Hey, Pyrr!” Jaune shouted back to his partner. “They want to fight me two on one! Do you mind? I figure you can always step in if I’m starting to lose!”

Pyrrha shrugged her shoulders. “Sure why not!”

“Well there you have it, Cardin, she doesn’t mind,” Jaune stated.

“Thanks, Jauney. You’re a real pal.” Said Cardin as he offered Jaune a hand to shake. “May the best man win?”

Jaune shook his hand. As he did so, Jaune tried to ignore the running commentary. Dr. Oobleck was very animated about the ‘marvelous show of sportsmanship on display’.

“You confident you can handle this?” Pyrrha asked when he returned.

“After last night I’ve got confidence in spades,” Jaune said, just loud enough for her and no one else to hear. "But, well, confidence isn't everything. The plan is to work out what their secret weapon is and try to defuse it before you get involved."

The terrain indicators began to spin, there was now less than a minute until the match would begin. Jaune had no plan to speak of other than the observe first and play it safe until he could act.

Directly behind him, a desert setting rose. The sand would do nicely if he wanted to try and disorient his opponents. There were stone outcroppings that could break the line of sight too. It was a good option to start the match.

To his left and right were ocean and geyser terrain. The water would do him no favors unless Cardin somehow managed to set him completely alight.

Finally behind Cardin and Russel was a ruined urban setting. It would be hard to get past them to get there if he wanted to use the buildings as cover.

“Without further ado, our first match! Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush versus Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos!” Doctor Oobleck loudly announced as the timer began to count down from ten.

“Make sure you’re watching them, not just me. Whatever they’re planning, I’ll try to work it out. It’s better if I get caught in their trap than you.” Jaune ordered.

_Five._

“Got it. Time to show off what you've got Jaune.” She replied.

_Four._

_Three._

Jaune channeled aura to his eyes and feet, preparing for a full-speed retreat. He needed to be ready for anything. If Cardin had taught his team to fight as he does, then he was about to face off with a wide collection of skills.

_Two._

_One._

A horn blared. Jaune instantly retreated to the desert and he hid behind one of the stone pillars.

_Okay Jaune, steady now. Just like we practiced._

Jaune slowly climbed up the rocky surface of the pillar, placing himself a mere 8 feet above the ground. Just as he’d hoped, they had circled either side to form a pincer maneuver. Unfortunately for them, he wasn’t just sitting there waiting for them.

Russel was the smaller fighter, and though not always the case, it was likely that he was weaker than Cardin. Jaune shuffled towards the aura that he could sense as Russel's. When in position, he kicked off the stone, launching himself into Russel from above.

Russel must have sensed something, as he rolled out of the way of Jaune’s attack.

Jaune had a few seconds before Cardin reached his current position, so he tried to make the best of it.

With his shield in front, he charged, hoping to bowl his opponent over.

“Rend!” Russel suddenly shouted.

His dual daggers scratched the surface of Jaune’s shield, barely even causing him to budge. Despite this, Jaune felt the sting of a sharp edge cutting his aura.

Jaune’s counter-attack was sloppy in his surprise. He managed nothing more than a simple swing with his base strength. As a result, the damage from Russel’s skill was greater even through his defense. Jaune might have greater reserves, but that wasn’t a trade he would want to make too often.

Jaune hadn’t thought to keep a close eye on the inside of his shield, so he missed exactly what happened. He knew that that skill could cut beyond the reach of the weapon. It had to be aura related. Not even the system was capable of magic. There has always been a logical process behind every technique.

Cardin had already caught up by the time he’d managed to process that exchange, so Jaune turned and slashed at him. Though he didn’t want to do it so early into the fight he activated his muscle augmentation. Not including taking any future damage, he had 23 minutes on the clock. Half that if he chose to channel aura into his blade and even less again if he started throwing it around.

Jaune’s blow collided with Cardin’s vambrace as he blocked it with his bare arm.

_Why didn’t he block it normally?_

“Reckoning!” Cardin shouted, answering his mental question.

With his aura sight, he could see Cardin’s aura rippling outwards from where his sword had struck. Instead of disappearing, it flowed into his mace, causing it to glow slightly.

Cardin’s following counter-attack dealt damage through Jaune’s guard. Even with his boosted strength, he was sent rolling through the sand for several feet.

Cardin’s mace had always been heavy, and his blows even more so. Even then, it was clear that his old ‘sparring partner’ had made leaps and bounds in his ability to dish out the hurt.

Thanks to the armor he wore, Cardin didn’t even take much damage from his strike. Jaune couldn’t just carelessly strike him anymore. Not when he had a skill that would turn his attacks against him.

“Everybody heard about your little training trip Jauney, but you’re not the only one who works hard. We spent weeks hunting Grimm. We raised our levels and learned new skills, all for this tournament.” Cardin stated.

Jaune ignored him, opting to focus on working out as much as he could. Russel was capable of strikes that penetrated his defenses. Cardin was capable of a revenge-skill that turned taken damage into potential damage. When they worked together, Jaune had neither offense nor defense to rely on. He would lose no matter what at this rate.

So he got up, and he ran.

Jaune outpaced them by far, but he couldn’t do it forever. Every minute that passed was another point of aura lost. He had to come up with a plan.

He spotted Pyrrha a short distance away, keeping an eye on the fight from above. She mustn’t have wanted to give her position away because when she knew he saw her, she didn’t shout out to him. She pointed a finger to the ground, then closed that hand and lifted it with the other before pointing at him.

It had been months since he had learned tactical sign language in Dr. Oobleck’s classes. He vaguely recognized ‘need’ and ‘help’. He responded with what he hoped was the gesture for no.

He must have been right since Pyrrha simply raised her scope to keep an eye on the fight.

“Well this match hasn’t gone as expected has it, Bart? Ms. Nikos is watching on the sidelines, while Mr. Arc is on the run.” Professor Port announced.

“Indeed Peter, if they don’t do something soon, then I fear this fight may be over before it’s even begun.” Dr. Oobleck replied.

“Yeah yeah, I’m working on it,” Jaune mumbled under his breath.

Cardin had managed to block his attack with his arm. An aura slash wouldn’t have enough stopping power to do anything. It wouldn't work on Russel either, he was too fast to hit from a distance.

With that troublesome speed, Russel broke away from Cardin as he tried to catch up with Jaune. When the distance between them grew, Jaune turned on his pursuer.

Being struck had caused him to flinch last time, but this time, he would grit his teeth and bare it. He was certain his strikes would deal more damage than Russel’s.

Jaune held out the shield in front of him, providing a big target for his opponent. He held it loosely though, ready to move it out of the road and strike.

“Vulnerability!” Russel shouted.

Russel’s dagger drove into Jaune’s thigh. The strike didn’t pierce his defences, but as if his aura had been broken his shield faded away.

“Combo skill; Lacerate!” Russel shouted once more, bringing his second weapon across Jaune’s now unguarded flesh.

Jaune winced but managed to slam his sword into Russel’s frozen body. His strike had managed to drop Russel into the yellow, almost to the point of eliminating him. Unfortunately, for the first time in a long time, he had the notification of an injury buzzing in the back of his mind.

 **You are suffering from Severe Laceration (Left Leg)**  
Mobility reduced by 80%.  
Left leg strength reduced by 60%

_Well, that’s not good. That’s probably how they planned to take out Pyrrha. An exchange of aura for an injury that left her slower. With coup de grâce feeding off her injury and any damage she has taken, that could be a real threat._

Wait…

Jaune had an idea.

It was their skills that were turning the tide of this battle. What if he were to use them too? He had stolen Cardin’s skills once before, what was to stop him from doing it again?

It would require experimentation in the middle of combat. But with a bit of luck and his training in observation and mimicking other’s styles, he thought he had a good shot.

Whether Cardin and Russel knew it or not, their skills used aura in new and unique ways to do the things they did.

Reckoning allowed Cardin to recycle his aura and effectively double his aura’s efficiency. Any damage his aura absorbed was rebounded through his body and out of his next attack before the aura was expended. Rend was considerably simpler. It extended Russel’s cutting edge beyond the blade. The final two, or perhaps three were more complicated. Vulnerability seemed capable of temporarily disabling aura where it strikes. Lacerate was able to leave a vicious injury wherever it landed. His ability to combo the two together without freezing meant he could maim or even kill with the smallest opportunity.

If he could just simulate these behaviors in his aura, he could replicate the skills.

Hell, if he was lucky, he might even be able to do it without the cool down. His aura slash wasn’t that different from the Sunder skill Cardin had once subjected him to.

The only trick now was doing it.

“Cover me!” Jaune shouted out to his partner.

The injury they’d given him was a problem. He couldn't hold them off, experiment with these techniques, and stem the bleeding all at once.

Pyrrha was beside him in seconds, spear at the ready.

“Don’t get hit. Not even your shield will stop the damage. I just need enough time to heal my leg, then we can finish this together.” He ordered.

“Got it,” Pyrrha responded.

Jaune deactivated his muscle augmentation and instead fully activated his aura healing. The cut was deep and would take a few hours to fully heal. He’d have to settle for just closing the wound superficially.

As it stitched back together, Jaune tried manipulating his aura to copy Russel’s Rend skill.

He started by adding a few inches of aura to the end of his blade. He thrust the new edge against his shield as a test and the false tip held strong instead of penetrating. While it could have a use in extending his reach, the aura alone was weaker than his blade and dealt little damage.

_Okay, it’s not that then._

_How does it work, how did it feel…?_

_I felt the impact of his blades and his actual slash separately. My shield barely moved while my arm was hit directly. The aura I channel into my shield blocks other people’s aura from getting through. He can’t be simply moving his aura through it._

Jaune suddenly had an epiphany. The skill was called Rend and that described not just what it did, but how it does it.

He had to separate the strike and the aura like an aura slash; the only difference was the timing and the distance.

Jaune attempted once more, but this time he left a gap between his aura and the blade. Materializing his aura without a direct connection proved more difficult than expected. He got it working, but not very well. He did manage to summon an aura slash behind his shield. But his lack of control meant the second blade of aura pushed more than it sliced. To make it worthwhile, he would either have to let the system guide him or charge it with a lot of aura. Neither option was ideal.

With the skill just barely prepared, Jaune tested his leg by putting his weight on it. It hurt like hell and if he messed up it would reopen, but it was functional, for now.

Pyrrha had done well holding her own, but her opponents weren’t the same fighters she once trounced. They worked together and chained their usage of skills to keep her on her toes. Half her attention was devoted to Cardin whose blows threatened instant elimination. The other half was keeping Russel's position in mind and not letting him get behind her. There was no room for her to strike back.

“Hey, Cardin!” Jaune shouted from behind as he ran back into the fray.

Cardin turned to face Jaune and the dust crystal in his mace began to glow with aura.

Jaune took Cardin head-on, catching his blow with his shield. The flames rolled over him, but he held his ground and kept his thoughts focused. He was already familiar with the heat and his aura was more than enough to protect him.

The ‘training’ with Pyrrha must have desensitized him, as for the short moment it lasted, Jaune held strong. It seemed her and Neptune’s theory of tricking the mind had some merit after all.

Jaune countered with a slash that Cardin once again blocked with his arm, taking a small amount of damage. This time though, Jaune had the advantage of a second slash positioned behind his guard.

Jaune released the aura, striking Cardin in the face where there was no armor to protect him.

The force and surprise of his attack knocked him backward and interrupted Cardin. Jaune used this momentary opening to wedge his shield between Cardin’s mace and body. He then landed a second direct hit with his blade.

As Cardin buckled under the impact, Jaune began to pick up speed. Strike after strike landed as Jaune pushed his advantage. Cardin’s aura was plummeting, already in the yellow, and heading for the red.

Jaune could see Cardin bunkering down, guarding as best as he could. Jaune’s attacks were still getting through, but the damage was accumulating slower. Slow enough for Cardin to have charged up one final attack.

Cardin overcharged his dust crystal, causing it to shatter and explode. The flames that resulted were not his usual red, but a brilliant blue. Though they only lasted a mere second, the heat was unbearable. The sand beneath their feet instantly turned to glass. Jaune’s aura mitigated the effects partially, but his hair was singed and his eyes dried out.

Cardin didn’t have as much aura as Jaune did though.

When Jaune could see, he saw Cardin's skin was red and peeling in places. The display showed that his aura had run out completely.

“You idiot!” Jaune shouted.

He knew exactly what this felt like after all. When it had happened to him the payload had been larger, but Cardin’s skill with dust had created a hotter flame that more than made up for it.

“It’s just a stupid tournament, you didn’t have to go this far!”

Jaune picked up Cardin and raced at his maximum speed over to the ocean zone and placed Cardin within the water. With any luck, the salt content would prevent him from getting an infection as he had. Hopefully, the exposure to the cool water would stop the damage at the surface level.

“Where did you even get a stupid idea like that?” Jaune said once he had laid his opponent down.

Cardin coughed as he tried to say something. The heat had probably done some damage to the lining of his throat too.

Jaune got closer to hear what it was he had to say.

“You,” Cardin responded.

“Of course you’d say that. Anything to get results right?” Jaune sighed.

Jaune left Cardin lying there. The medics couldn’t come to collect him until the match was over due to the danger of the battlefield itself. The best thing he could do for him now would be to end the match as soon as possible.

Jaune raced back as fast as his injured leg would let him. The impact of the explosion and the strain of dragging Cardin around had reopened the wound.

When Jaune arrived he saw something he hadn’t expected.

Pyrrha was still fighting Russel to a standstill.

He had expected that with Cardin gone, Pyrrha would be able to end the match from there. This apparently, was not the case.

With two weapons that could inflict crippling injuries, Pyrrha was forced to fight in a style not her own. Normally she would dodge by the smallest distance necessary and counter between blows. Now though, she was completely evading each strike's entire path.

Jaune noted the interaction down for analysis later. If Russel could fight toe to toe with her as a rogue for this long, it might be worth trying the same strategy in the future. For now, Jaune decided it was time to finish the match.

With their combined offense and no one to back him up, Russel finally took a blow that removed him from the match.

“And the winners of today’s first match; Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc!” professor Port announced.

Jaune spared a glance for Cardin as he left the arena. The medics were quick on the move and were already hauling him away to be treated. With his first aid and the quick medical aid, his recovery would be much easier than Jaune’s had been.

“Well, that was a fun match,” Pyrrha stated.

“Certainly a lot more interesting than the first round was. Russel held you off pretty well at the end there.” Jaune replied.

“Yes, he did. Dual-wielding takes quite a lot of skill and he does it well. He’s fast and his strikes can disable aura too. Speaking of, shouldn’t you get that seen to?” She asked, gesturing to his leg.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll sit down for a while and watch the matches while my aura does its job. Who’s up next, do you know?” Jaune asked.

“Two teams from Atlas-” Pyrrha replied, before being interrupted by her scroll. She pulled it out, giving it a quick read. “You’ll have to watch them by yourself though. Professor Ozpin wants to see me in his office.”

“You’re not in trouble, are you? Did we get spotted last night?”

“He didn’t say. Speaking of last night, it must have worked. Even I felt how hot that explosion was but you took it head-on.” Pyrrha said cheerily.

“I won’t say I’m completely over it. I think the whole situation was too familiar for me to ignore. I probably would have been worse off if I hadn’t been distracted by the fact that Cardin was hurt. I still can’t believe he did that…” Jaune admitted.

“Hey, Jaune right?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

Jaune turned to look for the owner of the voice, finding a group of four heading straight for him.

“I’ll leave you to it Jaune, I don’t want to make the headmaster wait too long.” Said Pyrrha.

“Right, I’ll see you later then?” Jaune asked and Pyrrha nodded. He then turned his attention to the group which had approached him. “Yeah, I’m Jaune. Are you guys fans or something?”

“Ouch, looks like he doesn’t remember us.” One of the boys said to his group.

“Tough break there Jade.” Another said to the only girl in the group.

When Jaune laid eyes on her, he suddenly remembered who these people were. Most of them he had only seen for a few seconds, but the girl he had spent a considerable amount of time and attention on. It was going back quite a while though.

“You’re the girl who got hurt in initiation!” Jaune said upon realization.

“That’s right, and you’re the one who gave me this,” Jade replied, lifting her shirt to show off a gnarly scar.

Technically, Jaune had played a role in that scar, having cauterized it with burn dust. It was a little bit distressing that she blamed him for it instead of her attackers though.

“In my defense, it was either that or let you bleed out in the forest. It wasn’t even my idea either, I just got conned into doing it.” Jaune defended.

“She’s just busting your balls, don’t worry about it. I’m Nile by the way, and this is Lincoln and Gable. I don’t think we ever did end up getting introduced.” Nile said, gesturing to himself and his two male teammates. “Last time we saw you, you were just as banged up as Jade was. We thought we’d be in your class next year since we assumed you failed the initiation like us.”

“Oh, you guys are retaking the initiation? That’s cool.” Jaune replied.

“Nah, we already have our team and we’re older. We just have to pass a few tests and we’re allowed to join up. We can even get placed in the second year if we do well enough.” Lincoln explained.

“We’ve spent all year doing nothing but training, so we’re going to smash it.” Gable declared.

“That’s awesome, I’m happy for you guys. Anyway, I should get going. I need to scout out the competition.” Said Jaune.

“Wait!” Jade shouted.

“Hm?” Jaune prompted.

“We didn’t just come to say that. I wanted to thank you properly for helping me.” She bowed her head to Jaune. “Thank you!”

Her three friends stood around awkwardly until she coughed and elbowed the one closest to her.

They each bowed their heads as well.

“Thank you for helping Jade, and we’re sorry for ditching you to deal with them.” They all said in tandem. “We promise to pay you back somehow. If you ever need us, just ask.”

“Uhh look, it’s fine. I came out of it fine, even if I got a bit banged up in the short term. It’s water under the bridge.” Jaune awkwardly replied. He wasn’t used to dealing with this. “I’ve got to get going though. It was nice to meet you all though.”

Jaune rushed out of there, but as the situation was put behind him, he did feel some pride. It was nice being thanked, even if it could be awkward at times.

Jaune took a seat near Nora and Ren. Blake and Yang were seated just in front of them, while the other half of team RWBY was absent.

“Did I miss anything important?” Jaune asked.

“Nah, that match was a stomp. One took out their opponents without getting touched while the other stared at her watch. It was a pretty boring match.” Nora answered.

“The one who fought will be an opponent to keep an eye out for in the future, but there wasn’t much to learn about her,” Ren added.

“Shush!” Yang shouted back at them. “She’s coming on now!”

Jaune looked down at the arena to see Scarlet and Sage of team SSSN. From the other side, Ruby and Weiss walked onto the stage.

“And to fight them, let’s hear it for Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee!” Peter announced, triggering a roar of applause from the crowd.

“Wooooooooooo! Kick their ass sis!” Yang very loudly screamed.

Jaune waited for the cheering to die down. “How do you reckon they’re going to do?”

“Are you kidding? Ruby is untouchable when she wants to be. Not to mention Weiss’s dust control.” Yang replied.

“Untouchable? Surely you could handle her right?” Jaune asked, probing for information.

“Well duh, when she-” Yang was interrupted by Blake elbowing her in the ribs. “Hey!”

“I’m not letting you trick Yang into selling out our team members right in front of me.” Said Blake.

“Meh. It was worth a shot.” Jaune admitted.

There was a lot of very difficult terrain this time. In his fight, it had been entirely flat, though the sand was a bit of a slipping hazard. In contrast, the mountains and forests gave both teams a lot to work with.

Jaune hadn’t seen much of this half of team SSSN. From what he had seen though, they weren’t far from Sun or Neptune’s skill level.

Sage wielded a greatsword that was almost as large as Yatsuhashi’s. Scarlet on the other hand wielded a pistol and a cutlass. It was surprising his class wasn’t pirate considering how he matched the aesthetic. Scarlet also would have to be the only student other than himself whose weapon wasn’t ‘also a gun’. He simply carried a gun in addition to his main weapon.

When the fight began, Ruby and Weiss were quick to divide their opponents.

Ruby drove Scarlet away from his partner, sending him retreating into the forest. If Scarlet thought he had the advantage there he was wrong. It was true that Ruby’s scythe had difficulties in enclosed spaces. But he’d seen her slice straight through tree trunks as little more than a show of frustration.

Weiss meanwhile had set up a ring of twelve glyphs around Sage. She leaped from glyph to glyph, activating them as she landed and causing ice spears to fly at her opponent.

Sage of course wasn’t an amateur. He quickly figured out that the attacks only came from the glyphs Weiss landed on, so he was able to pre-empt them. He managed to fend off Weiss’ rapier thrusts and the projectiles with the flat side of his sword as a shield.

From where they were seated, Jaune couldn’t see how Ruby and Scarlet’s fight was going. He could see the trees falling one after another though. Ruby was going on an absolute rampage in there. If he was Scarlet, he would be doing everything he could to stay out of her way.

Jaune never did find out what the features of Ruby’s class were. Her Semblance made her faster than anyone in a straight contest of speed. Meanwhile, her weapon was built for inflicting as much damage as possible to humans or Grimm alike. She didn’t let just anyone handle it, but he remembered just how heavy it was. The fact she could wield it and absorb its recoil as easily as she did was proof that she wasn’t just fast but strong too.

Most dangerously however was her mind and her charisma.

Jaune had been told that he had a great mind for strategy, and his team seemed to follow him in full confidence. But he would be lying if he said he didn’t see all of that and more in Ruby.

Her team was full of such strong and varied personalities. She wrangled them all despite the age difference.

Jaune knew that Ruby would have to be one of the worst possible matchups he could get in this tournament.

With that in mind, it was no surprise when after a few short minutes, she caught Scarlet and eliminated him. Once the chase had finished, it had taken a single blow from the reaper’s scythe to destroy his aura.

Weiss too had been steadily ramping up her attacks. All her ice spears had formed a ring around Sage that made it difficult to escape her. As time passed the space he had to move in began to shrink as the spears piled up. Weiss began to replace her thrusts with slashes of flame and balls of arcing lightning. The addition of curved and spiral attacks made it harder to respond properly.

After her first hit landed, the rest cascaded onto him and wiped him out as well.

Ruby and Weiss had once again won a match without taking even a single hit, and of course, the crowd was loving it.

Even Pyrrha didn’t get this kind of applause and she always ended her matches just as flawlessly as they did.

“We better go get ready. We’re up soon.” Yang said as she stood up.

Jaune wished them luck. Their match was another that he was looking forward to. For now, he would have to wait.


	40. The Fall I

After Ruby and Weiss’s dominating performance, the following matches were lacking in flair.

Cinder’s half of team CMSN fought against Yatsuhashi and Velvet of team CFVY. Jaune had expected to see a loss for the Beacon team. Surprisingly they managed to win without too much difficulty. Cinder’s strength and skill that she showed in their spar was nowhere to be seen. He had expected her to perform better than she did.

Her team members Emerald and Mercury performed much better, taking out a team from Atlas. But even that match seemed to happen the way it did because their opponents were weak.

In the end, Jaune chalked it up to nerves. Cut down to a smaller team and facing off opponents that had already won a match, the pressure had risen. Not every team would be able to perform their best under those conditions.

“Come on Renny, it’ll be our turn soon! Record these fights for us would you Jaune? I don’t want to miss a thing.” Said Nora.

“You want me to record your fight because you don’t want to miss it?” Jaune asked.

“Mhm!” Nora said, nodding enthusiastically. “Just because I was there, doesn’t mean I don’t want to watch it too. That would be like Spruce Willis not watching his films.”

_That would be a sin..._

“You got it. Go kick some butt guys.” Jaune replied.

Ren looked like he was about to be marched off to the gallows, not at all sharing his partner’s optimism.

“Ren, stop worrying so much. Just go out there and do what I do.” Jaune ordered.

“What do you do again?” Ren sarcastically asked.

“Try to not get burned alive usually. Seriously, that happens way too often for my liking... But also, I try to make the best of every situation. Even if you get disqualified, you’re not ‘losing a match’. You’re learning a few of your weaknesses so you can improve next time.” Jaune said, trying to lift his friend’s spirits.

“If we get disqualified we are literally losing a match just so we’re clear... But I guess you’re right.” Ren replied. “Nora, let’s go blow some stuff up and try not to get Jaune caught in it.”

“Now that’s the ninja we all know and lo-” Nora paused. “-like.”

Nora then took off running, leaving the situation she created behind. Ren followed after her at his own pace.

“Good luck!” Jaune shouted after them both.

The professors began to announce the next competitors. On one side were two members from team FNKI(Funky) of Atlas. Against them were Yang and Blake.

As the match started, Jaune’s scroll exploded with a torrent of messages.

Several were from his sisters. Most were wishing him luck as his match had just started being broadcast. A few minutes later, one came from Coral. It was a screenshot of his face as he'd been stabbed. It was captioned with several crying-laughing emojis.

His mother sent a few texts both en masse with his sisters and when the fight would have finished. Each saying how proud she was and congratulating him for making it as far as he had. His father had sent a single text after all of them stating nothing more than ‘Sloppy. Needs work.’

That was par for the course with his father as he remembered it, so he wasn’t too put off by it.

Jaune had missed Yang and Blake's fight. It had been entertaining but swift based on the crowd's reaction. Jaune readied his camera for Ren and Nora’s entrance, but as he did, he received one more text.

“Can you come to meet me please?” Pyrrha’s text read.

There weren’t any details, which was weird. Weirder still was that she was being so polite. She didn’t have to say ‘please’ and he was pretty sure she knew that. Something wasn’t right.

“Hey, can you record this for me? Something came up.” Jaune asked Ruby who was sitting in her recently vacated sister’s seat.

“Sure.” She replied, taking his scroll. “It’s nothing serious, is it?”

“I hope not. It shouldn’t be. Pyrrha just seemed a little off, so I don’t want to waste time. You can hold onto that until you see me next, no need to chase me down.”

Ruby nodded and turned to the arena to record it to the best of her abilities.

_Time to see what’s going on._

**/-/**

As the doors opened, the first thing Jaune noticed was the complete silence inside the room. It wasn’t the hushed quiet of a room that stopped talking to greet a newcomer. It was the awkward quiet of a room that had been waiting.

The second thing he noticed was that despite the silence, the room was full of people.

Pyrrha sat politely with her hands in her lap in front of the professor’s desk. Ms. Goodwitch and Oz both were opposite her, watching as he walked in. Ruby’s uncle was here as well, leaned against one of the walls with a flask in hand. Across the room from him was the general.

Jaune knew instantly something was going on.

He ignored everyone else in the room and walked straight up to his partner.

“Pyrrha, what’s going on?” he asked.

“Your little girlfriend-” Qrow started.

“I was talking to Pyrrha.” Jaune interrupted. “I’ll hear it from her first if you all don’t mind.”

Qrow raised an eyebrow and looked away while the professor leaned back in his chair.

“Is everything okay?” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha looked at the professors as if she wasn’t sure what to say.

“I don’t know. Yes? Sort of. Maybe it would be best if they explained.” Pyrrha replied. It did nothing to alleviate Jaune’s concern.

“Okay, go on then Oz. What has my partner acting like this?” Jaune prompted.

“We had an offer for her. The exclusive, once in a lifetime top-secret kind. She is not in any trouble, but it was a lot to take in. It’s a lot for anyone to take in. This is why she has called you here. She needed someone to help her... wrap her head around it. It should be mentioned that she called in her favor from me to have this done. Were it up to me, you would not be here before her having accepted my offer. As it stands, you are both to keep everything you hear today a secret from everybody.” Professor Ozpin explained.

“Even our team?” Jaune inquired.

“Yes. Your team, your families, your friends, and the staff members that aren’t in this room. Unless I give express permission, the six of us in this room are the only people to know.” The professor confirmed.

That was not what he had been expecting to hear. It was good that no one was in trouble, but with all the secrecy...

“So what’s the offer then?”

“I’ll get to that in a moment. There is a process to all this. Tell me Jaune, what is your favorite fairy tale?”

Jaune sighed.

_There better be a point to this._

“The warrior of the woods,” Jaune replied.

“Hmmm, yes I suppose I can see that aligning quite well with your personality. Do you know of any others?” the professor asked.

“Yeah, I do, there’s like a hundred different fairy tales out there. What’s the point of all this?” Jaune impatiently asked.

“What if I told you that some of those fairy tales were true? Take, for example, the story of the seasons. What if I were to tell you four Maidens truly existed in this world. That they could wield tremendous power, all without dust.”

Jaune looked at the professor’s face for several seconds, searching for a hint that this was a joke.

There wasn’t one.

“Why are you telling me-” he looked at Pyrrha. “-us this?”

“Because we believe that your partner, Pyrrha Nikos, is next in line to receive the Fall Maiden’s powers. We need her help.” The professor explained.

Jaune knew that Pyrrha, just like he, would struggle to refuse a cry for help. It wasn’t in her nature.

“Why does it have to be her?” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha jolted a little bit when he asked.

“Pyrrha, did you not ask that question? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy you called me here, but you didn’t think to ask something that important first?”

“I don’t know! I was shocked. How are you keeping such a level head about all this, doesn’t it sound crazy to you? Magical powers that go beyond dust and Semblances are real.” She exclaimed.

That was... fair. This wasn’t affecting him directly, but for Pyrrha, this must be overwhelming.

“To answer your question Jaune, I have a few reasons. Though I should mention that by no means does it ‘have’ to be her. There are other options if she chooses to refuse. For the record, she can refuse. You will both just be asked to remain quiet about it.” Oz waited for Jaune to nod to show that he understood. Pyrrha did the same. “For starters, as you know this is a matter of absolute secrecy. Ms. Nikos has gone years in the public eye without exposing her Semblance. This makes her an ideal candidate for keeping new powers private too.”

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. It made sense. She must have faced hundreds of opponents who tried to work out her Semblance. None had come forward thus far.

“Additionally, she is an incredibly talented fighter for her age. Any candidate we picked had to be able to defend herself-”

“Why?” Jaune instantly interrupted. “Why does the candidate specifically need to be able to defend herself.”

The professor looked at Qrow, Glynda, and James before sighing.

“I shall show you both. I planned on doing so anyway.”

**/-/**

The six of them were standing shoulder to shoulder inside the elevator as it descended.

“Where are we going?” Pyrrha asked.

“The vault, under the school,” Oz replied.

The elevator finally reached its destination and the doors opened. Jaune was faced with the largest hallway he had ever seen.

In length, it easily reached from one side of the academy to the other. Rows of lights along the walls blurred together in the distance.

As they walked, Ms. Goodwitch began to speak with Pyrrha.

“You said I was next in line to receive the Maiden’s powers... What do you mean by that?” Pyrrha asked.

“The Maiden’s have existed for thousands of years. But, much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike. When a Maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host. This ensures that the seasons are never lost and that no individual can hold onto the power forever.” Glynda explained.

Jaune chose to stay quiet and let Pyrrha handle the questions. As much as he had his own, it was Pyrrha who was affected most. He was there to support her, not take over for her. Only if he urgently needed answers would he interrupt.

“So how does the power choose?” Pyrrha asked.

“Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules,” Qrow interjected from in front.

“Qrow.” Ms. Goodwitch warned.

“Don’t get mad because I’m right.”

“At first, the only certain thing was that the powers were passed onto young women. As time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more... intimate.” Ms. Goodwitch explained with a sigh, choosing to ignore Qrow.

“Intimate?” Pyrrha asked.

“When a Maiden dies, the one who was in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power,” Glynda explained.

“Unless it’s a dude or some old hag. Then the power goes to someone random, and our jobs get a lot harder.” Qrow added.

“Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I’ve graduated?” Pyrrha asked. Jaune had been wondering the very same thing, especially with the tournament going on.

“Honestly, we’ve run out of time,” Qrow answered. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high. Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent. It’s not going to be much longer before this peace we’ve all been enjoying so much goes out the window.”

_The Breach is proof of that._

“You’re not talking about war, are you?” Pyrrha asked.

“Not between nations.” The general replied.

“We’ll fill you in on the details once we know you’re with us,” Qrow added.

Jaune frowned. “Do I not qualify as ‘with you’? I thought that Ozpin had something planned for me beyond just hunting Beowolves.”

“This is one of those situations where I had hoped to let you focus on your training until you were ready. You’re right though, I gave my word to teach you everything I knew and this was included in that. You were as good as one of us, I just wanted you to be ready.” Ozpin responded.

“’One of those situations’, as in there’s more you’re not telling us?” Jaune asked.

“Yes, and if I sat you down and told you everything, you would miss out on the tournament entirely. There is a lot you don’t know.” The professor stopped walking and turned to face Jaune and Pyrrha. “Please trust me to tell you what you need to know when you need to know it.”

Jaune clicked his tongue but said no more on the matter. Pyrrha grabbed his hand and they continued to walk down the hall.

“All you need to know is that one of the Maidens was attacked, and for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen.”

Finally, after a few more minutes of walking, they approached a large machine at the end of the hall.

In one of the large pods was a dark-skinned woman, who was either asleep or unconscious. The second was empty and attached to the first with a tube and a large console.

“Is that...?” Pyrrha began to ask.

“The current Fall Maiden, Amber,” Oz said with a sigh.

“She’s... still alive.” Pyrrha hesitantly stated.

“For now. We’re using state of the art Atlas technology to keep her stable. But there is a lot about this situation which is... unprecedented.” The general explained.

“What do you mean?” Both Pyrrha and Jaune asked.

Jaune was relieved to see Pyrrha asking the important questions that she hadn’t been earlier.

“Well, we don’t know what will happen if... when she passes.” The general answered.

“Won’t her power just transfer to the next host?”

“Look who’s been listening, she is smart” Qrow sarcastically quipped. Jaune shot him a glare.

“Under normal circumstances, yes. But this is a delicate situation. It’s not uncommon for the last thoughts of the slain to be that of their attacker. To make matters worse, no one’s ever seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half.”

“The one who attacked her,” Jaune said, verbalizing the unsaid component.

“Obviously, that would not bode well for any of us.” Said Oz.

Pyrrha walked up to the Fall Maiden’s body and placed a hand upon the glass. Jaune came with her if only to give her the comfort of standing by her side.

She had scars running across her face as if she had been burned by something shaped like a spider’s web.

“If all of this is true, why keep it secret?” Pyrrha asked. “If this girl is so important… If we’re truly on the brink of war, why not tell everyone?”

“To protect the Maidens,” Jaune answered, looking at the professors. “Right?”

“Correct,” Oz replied.

“Those hungry for power hunted them with the hope of inheriting their strength,” Glynda explained.

“As you can imagine, the ones that succeeded weren’t exactly the people you’d want to have unimaginable power,” Qrow added, taking a drink from his flask.

“Thus, this brotherhood chose to remove the Maidens from the public eye. We allowed their existence to fade away into legend.” General Ironwood continued.

“To become nothing more than a fairy tale.” Oz finished. “This sort of information goes against hundreds of years of ‘common knowledge’. It would bring panic, and with it, the Grimm. Which is why... we would like-”

“I’ll do it.” Pyrrha interrupted.

“What? No! Pyrrha, give it some more thought, you’re not thinking properly.” Jaune shouted, pulling her to face him.

“Jaune, you of all people can’t convince me that this isn’t the right thing to do. You’ve done so many stupid things to save our friends. If this will help all of humanity, then I will become their Fall Maiden.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” Professor Ozpin interjected.

“Is that not what you wanted?” Pyrrha asked.

“It is, but, given Amber’s condition, you won’t be able to inherit her power naturally,” Oz explained. “However, the general believes he has a solution.”

“For the past few years, Atlas has been studying aura from a more scientific standpoint. How it works; what it’s made of; how it can be used. We’ve made significant strides, and we believe we’ve found a way to capture it.” The general stated.

“Capture it and cram it into something else... Or in your case...” Qrow added.

“We can’t give you her powers. But we can give you what those powers are bound to.” Said James.

“Her aura,” Pyrrha responded.

“Her life would become intertwined with yours. The question is...” Oz stated.

“What’s that going to do to you?” said Qrow.

Pyrrha looked down at her feet so Jaune squeezed her hand to remind her that he was here with her.

“You have an important decision to make Ms. Nikos. There’s no guarantee this transfer will work, and there’s no telling if you will be the same person if it does. I advise you to take time to think on this matter. But understand, that before the Vytal Festival is over, we will need your answer.”

Pyrrha turned back to look at Jaune, before continuing to re-examine the body of the Fall Maiden.

“The assailant who attacked the Fall Maiden has made their first move. There’s no telling when their next move will be.” Oz stated.

“I think we will be leaving now. My partner and I have much to talk about.” Jaune firmly stated. He wanted to get Pyrrha out of there now so they could talk about this without interruptions.

It wasn’t to be though.

“There is one more thing Jaune.” Said Oz.

“What?” Jaune asked.

“You asked me why I chose Pyrrha. There was one more reason. Yes, Pyrrha is an ideal candidate with talent and skill, and yes we need someone now and don’t have time to search around. But that’s not the biggest reason. I chose Pyrrha, because of you Jaune.”

“I beg your pardon?” Jaune said almost in anger.

“The previous maiden was inexperienced but skilled, much like Ms. Nikos. Unlike your partner, however, she was alone. We thought that her solitary lifestyle would keep her safe and we were wrong. We wanted our next Maiden to have people around her that can keep her safe. You Jaune would keep Ms. Nikos safe at all costs. She has friends in team RWBY and a team to keep her safe. But most importantly, you would be beside her every step of the way.” Oz explained.

“If Ms. Nikos was to accept this offer, I have offered to take you and your team back with me to Atlas after the tournament.” The general stated. “Oz is busy and doesn’t have as much time to train you or Ms. Nikos on how to control her new powers. You would have the backing of the entire Atlas Military and the academy to take you to new heights.”

“That’s quite the offer,” Jaune replied.

“Then-”

“One which we will keep in mind as we talk this over. We’re leaving.” Jaune interrupted.

He took Pyrrha by the hand and led her back to the elevator.

**/-/**

“Jaune?” Pyrrha asked.

Jaune didn’t answer. He was rubbing his eyes with both hands as he tried to organize his thoughts.

“Jaune!” Pyrrha said louder.

“Sorry! I’m just... Why did you accept so readily?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do?” Pyrrha responded confidently.

“For who?” Jaune asked.

“For everyone. You heard him, this sort of thing affects everyone. The whole world is relying on me to do this, and if I don’t someone else will have to. Someone less qualified.”

“Is it the right thing to do for you though?” Jaune asked. Pyrrha went to answer but he cut her off. “Okay fine, I’m the last person who gets to say that. But is it the right thing to do for me, and your friends?”

Pyrrha didn’t have an answer for that one immediately.

“You always get so annoyed whenever I find myself in a bad spot and I put myself in danger to help other people. But now you’re choosing to bring that danger to you. You’re going to be hunted, he said you might become a different person when your auras combine. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.” Jaune admitted.

“Then what should I do? What would you do if they’d offered the power to you?” Pyrrha asked.

She reached out with her Semblance and locked their doors and closed their windows. She didn’t want their rising voices to reach other’s ears.

“Ask me not to take it and I won’t. What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know.” Jaune finally sighed. “I don’t have a good answer for you. This is exactly the kind of thing that I would accept if it was offered to me. But because it’s not me, because it’s you, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Pyrrha flopped down on the bed beside him and Jaune lay down to match her.

“So you’re saying if it was you, you’d take it, knowing that I wouldn’t want you to. But because it’s me I shouldn’t take it because you don’t want me to?” Pyrrha asked, rolling over and resting her head on his chest.

“Pretty stupid when you say it like that,” Jaune replied. “But yeah, that about wraps it up.”

“Not exactly a helpful stance to take on the issue.”

“I know...”

They sat there for a few moments, each thinking it over and unsure of what to say next.

“What about the tournament?” Jaune asked.

“Hm? What about it?”

“He needs an answer before it’s over, but what about our fight? I was already the underdog without you getting this aura-steroid magic bullshit.” Jaune explained.

“I... I don’t know. He needs an answer before the tournament, but maybe as long as we give our word, he’d let us have our match first?”

“Maybe...”

A few more moments of silence.

“What would we tell Ren and Nora?” Pyrrha asked.

“Is this assuming you keep your personality? I don’t know. That depends on if we took the general up on his offer too.”

“Are you considering it?”

“If you’re putting yourself in danger by accepting, we are going to Atlas and taking that training. All of us.”

“What about team RWBY?” Pyrrha asked.

Jaune didn’t have a good answer for that.

“I’m sure we’d be allowed to visit them...” Jaune weakly offered.

“I’d miss them. They’re the first friends I’ve ever had.” Said Pyrrha.

“If you didn’t take the powers, I bet it would be someone from team RWBY who’d be picked next. They’re all really good fighters too. There’s a chance they’d move away as well.”

Pyrrha nodded.

“Are you worried that if you take these powers you’ll end up in a similar situation as before you came to Beacon?” Jaune asked.

“What do you mean?”

“All that power, you used to hate being put on a pedestal over other people. Won’t this do the same thing?”

“I hadn’t thought of that before you mentioned it...” Pyrrha admitted.

“Sorry.” Jaune apologized.

Jaune shuffled on the bed so that he was laying down properly with his legs not hanging off the side. Pyrrha came up to join him, placing a kiss on his lips.

“What do you think the professor meant when he said you’d become a different person?” Jaune asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe Amber’s personality and memories would mix with mine? Maybe she’d take over. Maybe I’d start hearing voices in the back of my head. I don’t think even he knows.”

“I guess you’re right. Pyrrha, if you were going to make this choice without thinking about us, would you choose to accept the power?” Jaune asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve spent all my life training to become a huntress. This throws a big wrench into those plans. I’m not going to be just a huntress, am I? I think even if I wasn't worried about everyone else I wouldn’t know what to choose. This wasn't what I thought I was fated for.”

“Fate huh? I had always wished to become a great hero in an epic story. It seems like you’re the protagonist though, I’m just the sidekick.”

“Jaune... you’re not the sidekick. You’re the love interest at least. Maybe this is a story with two main characters?” Pyrrha suggested.

Jaune chuckled despite himself.

“The love interest huh? So what do you think the ending of our tale is? Happily ever after? Or something more ‘Romeo and Juliet’?”

“I’d like to think we get a happy ending. Defeat the person who attacked Amber, live a long life together saving the world. Settle down and have a-” Pyrrha cut herself off.

“Have a...?” Jaune prompted.

“Have a few kids or something.” She quickly muttered. Suddenly her words began to pour out of her mouth as she seemed to lose control of what she was saying. “I’m not saying I’ve put any thought into it. I’m not saying I haven’t either. I’m just saying that in a normal happy ending that’s what happens. Of course, we only turned 18 recently so that’s a long way off and-”

“Pyrrha.” Jaune interrupted while biting down on his laughter. “It’s fine. I don’t know what the future holds, especially with everything we just learned. But I couldn’t see myself spending it with anyone else. I told you right? If I lost you, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

“You’d work something out.” Said Pyrrha.

“No, I wouldn’t. I’m serious. You’re it for me Pyrrha. You’re part of who I am now. If you die, I’d die with you.”

“Jaune! Don’t talk like that.” Pyrrha rebuked. “Would you want me to just give up if something happened to you?”

“No.” Jaune answered.

“Then no matter what you have to promise me, that no matter what happens you won’t just give up.”

“I didn’t say I’d give up. I didn’t even mean that I’d... do that. I just meant that if I was to lose you, I’d never be the same.”

Pyrrha huffed. “Honestly... Pick your words more carefully. If you’re going to be like that, I should just tell the professor no right now.”

“Don’t do that.” Jaune instantly replied.

“What?”

“Don’t make your decision for me. For something like this, you have to make it for you. I’ll support you no matter what you choose. But I can’t support a choice if it’s not what you wanted.”

“So if I chose to accept their offer?” Pyrrha asked.

“I’d follow you and keep you safe.”

“And if I chose to refuse?”

“Then a few years after graduation when we’re both rich and famous we can start thinking about that happy ending.”

Pyrrha finally laughed, and when she did, the wall that had been holding everything back broke. She forced herself not to cry and wiped away the few small tears that fell, holding herself together.

“You’ve decided haven’t you?” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha nodded.

“I wouldn’t be the person you think I am if I didn’t.”

“Then can I just make one request?”

Pyrrha nodded once more.

“Leave it until after our match. We can go let him know now, but... if you take these powers, any win I have against you will be because you held back. I want to try and keep my promise before I lose that chance.”

“I think I can agree with that,” Pyrrha replied.

_Bang!_

“Oh! Look who I found hiding in the dorm room while their team members were out there getting their butts kicked!” Nora shouted as she walked through the door she just kicked open.

Jaune took a quick peek at the damage. The lock was mangled beyond repair.

“We weren’t hiding, and I recorded your fight just like I promised!” Jaune lied. “You guys did fine.”

“We did fine, did we? Let’s have a look-see, shall we?” said Nora, throwing Jaune’s scroll on the table.

It was intentionally paused at the end of the video where Ruby was in the shot. The way the scroll was being held made it clear that Ruby was also the one doing the recording.

Ren calmly took a seat beside Nora. Considering how animated she was being right now, that was a sign that he was on her side. He was calm, but not pleased.

When Nora’s foot began to tap Jaune started the video from the start and watched it through.

Nora and Coco paired off while Ren and Fox did the same.

Nora’s grenades unleashed widespread destruction that no cover could truly negate. Meanwhile, Coco’s bullets were ripping through trees and concrete walls like paper. It was a battle of who could deal the most amount of damage as fast as possible. Unfortunately for Nora, her grenades flew slower than Coco’s bullets, and her rate of fire was slower too. Coco was able to stay out of the explosion radii for the most part. Nora however was forced to block bullets with her weapon as Coco sprayed her with flicks of her mini-gun.

Uninhibited by the smokescreen, Ren and Fox fought hand-to-hand. Jaune assumed that both fighters were using aura sight to maintain vision on each other. Eventually, something in their fight shifted. Ren's shadow started to take a one-sided beating as if he could no longer see his opponent properly.

“What happened there?” Jaune asked, pausing the video.

Ren sighed. “I guess that proves you didn’t watch us. You can’t see it in the recording, but I know you would’ve known if you were there.”

“I told you I didn’t see either of them in the stands,” Nora complained.

“Ok, fine, I didn’t stay to watch your match. Something important came up.” Jaune admitted.

“What could have been so important that you would miss our fight?!” asked Nora.

She was not happy about this in the slightest. Jaune knew he would have to do some damage control here.

He gave Pyrrha a look to see if she had any clues on how to handle it, but she didn’t. So he just had to wing it.

“It’s a private issue. I can’t say anything else about it, but I promise I didn’t skip out on you guys for no reason at all. I got Ruby to record for me because I had to leave suddenly. It was honestly right before your match that I found out.” Jaune explained.

“You’re not just saying that because Nora’s upset are you? Because if she finds out you’re not being honest she’ll make you regret it. She knows how to hold a grudge when it suits her, trust me.” Said Ren.

“I promise, and Pyrrha will back me up. If we could have been there, we would have been. But we can’t tell you anything more about it.” Jaune swore. Pyrrha nodded to confirm.

_Speak up any time Pyrrha..._

Nora grumbled under her breath for a while Ren sat and waited.

It was fortunate then that while Nora’s moods burned bright, they also burned fast.

“Fine! But you both owe us. Slave for a day, no exceptions.” She finally stated.

“Slave for the day?” Jaune asked.

“It means you both have to do anything we tell you to do for a day. She might make you do something embarrassing, or just have you wait on her hand and foot. Honestly, I’d take the deal, it could have been worse.” Ren advised.

Jaune nodded. “Ok, fine. We’re your slaves for a day, we’re sorry for missing your match. What do you want me to do Nora?”

“Master.” Nora corrected.

“What?”

“For the next 24 hours, you will call me and Renny master.” She stated.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha. It was clear she still had her mind elsewhere. The shock he was experiencing from this situation looked muted in her expression.

Jaune placed his hand over hers and gave her a shot of aura and willpower infused with vague positivity. It wouldn't do much, but he hoped it would help at least a little.

“Yes, master...” Jaune finally replied, knowing that it would be up to him to play the role the hardest.

“Better. Now, Ren, I’m feeling a little bit peckish. Would you like something to eat?” Nora asked.

Ren nodded.

“I could get you both something and bring it back for you?” Jaune offered hesitantly.

“Nonsense, foolish slave. You will take us to the cafeteria and make us a meal there. Won’t you?” Nora asked.

Jaune looked down at his leg. It hadn’t been that long since he started re-healing his stab wound. He could probably pull off carrying them around without hurting himself.

“... Yes.” Nora shot him a dirty glare. “Yes, master...”

Jaune picked up Nora, who insisted she is carried bridal style. Fortunately, when he motioned to turn to Ren, he was shut down. this was meant to be Jaune's punishment after all, not Ren's.

When he finally arrived at the cafeteria and placed Nora in her seat, she demanded to be made a feast fit for a king. Jaune settled on pancakes.

As he cooked he could hear Nora complaining about the match and close it had been.

“Why didn’t you guys try to switch up your game plan?” Jaune loudly asked from the kitchen.

“What?”

“I mean that you guys seemed so dead-set on your first plan. Why didn’t you try taking out Fox with a few of your grenades when you saw Coco was able to dodge them? For that matter, Ren, why didn’t you try to break away once you had the smokescreen? Fox could see you, but I bet Coco wouldn’t have been able to.” He explained.

There was no response for a long ten seconds.

“Aaaarghh! Why didn’t I think of that!?” Nora suddenly screamed.

“I must admit, perhaps I was too focused on trying to prove myself against a fellow monk...” Ren admitted.

“I know that you guys were trying to match yourselves against the opponents who fight in your style. But when that didn't work, you should’ve played to their weaknesses, not your strengths. Coco doesn’t have a real melee weapon, just that handbag. Either of you could have beat her up close. Similarly, Fox would have been fighting with his other senses. Grenades on his location would have thrown him off way more than Coco who could see.”

“Not a bad rundown there newbie.” Jaune heard Coco say from nearby. “Looks like I didn’t need to come here after all.”

“You didn’t need to come here in the first place,” Nora said with a hint of annoyance.

_Did this loss bother her that much?_

“Of course we did. We’re your seniors. It’s our responsibility to make sure you guys learn from your mistakes.” Fox countered.

Jaune brought out the stacked plate as well as Nora’s regular toppings and placed them all in front of her. When he did he saw that the entirety of team CFVY was here together.

“Fortunately, you’ve got your leader watching your back.” Said Coco.

“Watching our back maybe but not our match,” Nora complained.

“I said I was sorry!” Jaune replied.

“Silence! Feed me my meal, slave.” Nora ordered.

Jaune sighed.

“Yes, master...”

**/-/**

After 15 minutes of making Jaune fulfill all her requests, finally, the tide turned on Pyrrha. Nora ordered Jaune to follow Ren while she took Pyrrha for her uses.

“So you got any requests, master?” Jaune asked exasperatedly.

“You can relax while she’s not around. I was a bit annoyed when I thought you skipped out, but you said you had your reasons.” Ren replied.

Jaune sighed in relief. “Thanks. So you want to tell me what happened in your match? We kind of glossed over that in the end.”

“I suppose we did. You did miss out though. Knowing what you’re like, you would have been just as excited as I am.”

“This is you excited?” Jaune asked.

Ren raised an eyebrow.

“My aura sight stopped working during the match. One moment I could follow Fox’s movements, the next he was just a shadow amongst the smoke.” Ren finally explained.

“You didn’t just lose sight of him? Maybe he hid behind cover or something. Aura sight doesn’t give us X-ray vision.” Jaune suggested.

Ren shook his head. “No, he was doing something to mask his aura. As I said, I could still see him when he got close enough to strike. But I couldn’t see his aura.”

“He was using some kind of aura technique then maybe?” Jaune suggested. “He didn’t just expend all his aura or he would have been eliminated, so something that conceals it? Or maybe it’s a technique specifically to counter aura sight.”

Jaune scratched his chin for a few seconds.

“Want to try and steal it?” Jaune asked.

Ren gave one of his very rare smiles.

“It’s like you read my mind.”

**/-/**

Jaune and Ren took to one of the classrooms. For a change, their training didn’t require open space. Instead, they fully utilized the whiteboards for keeping track of their thought processes.

The central board was covered with a network of ideas and experiences that they both had had.

“So you’re saying it wasn’t instant then?” Jaune asked, writing down ‘not instant’ on the board.

Ren nodded, eyes closed in meditation and reflection.

“Yes, I was distracted, but it happened slowly enough for me to notice as it happened, rather than after. It was like he was turning off a tap.”

“Could you still see everyone else’s aura?” Jaune asked.

Ren nodded so Jaune drew a line from that point to the bubble labeled ‘concealment’. So far a lot of the little signs were pointing toward a technique that hides aura.

“One thing I did notice was that he started using his weapons a lot more after it happened. At first, I was thinking it was because he had the opportunity to land clean hits. But now I’m wondering...” Ren trailed off.

“You think maybe this technique means he couldn’t use aura at all?”

_Wait..._

Jaune looked over the board once more, then wrote down his own addition.

‘Fox’s aura doesn’t leak. Good Control or something else?’

“His aura ‘doesn’t leak’?” Ren asked, having opened his eyes as Jaune suddenly hopped up to mark down what he had.

“Yeah, I saw him in the gym once and he gave me a proper display of what his aura looked like. Colour, control, that sort of thing.” Jaune generated his aura shield. “If you look closely, you can probably see small amounts of my aura evaporating. It doesn’t expend anything, but it probably affects my aura generation.”

“Right, I can see that.” Ren agreed.

“Well... what if he turned that up to 11 and stopped all his aura from escaping?” Jaune asked.

“It’s as good a lead as any. But how?”

“Same as any aura technique I guess.”

_Visualization._

Jaune used the metaphor that Ren had posed earlier. Like a tap being turned off.

His aura shield deactivated instantly. Unfortunately, his aura still leaked out through his skin and wisped away. After a few moments of trying, Jaune reactivated his aura sight to see how Ren was going.

His control was better than Jaune’s and it showed in how much aura escaped him. Despite that, it seemed that he too was unsuccessful in stopping it completely.

Jaune tried several other phrases and images in his attempts to get it working. It wasn’t until he thought of suppressing or containing his aura that he got a reaction.

The layer of aura that was always present around his body retracted into his body. Jaune lost concentration and it returned to the surface and began acting like normal.

“Jaune?” Ren asked. “I felt your aura disappear for a second.”

“You ‘felt’ it?”

“Yeah, it was different from Fox. I think because you have more aura than average, if you hide yours it leaves a more noticeable void. How did you do it?”

“I thought less about turning my aura off, and more about containing it within my body,” Jaune explained.

Ren closed his eyes to concentrate and make his attempt, and the results were nearly instant. Jaune was looking right at him with aura sight active, but it was as if his aura was becoming transparent.

If he concentrated, he could still see Ren’s aura, but only if he focused intently.

Jaune made a second attempt. After a minute of maintaining it that he received several notifications.

You have unlocked the **[Aura Concealment]** skill.

 **[Aura Concealment: Level 0]**   
Aura Recovery while aura is concealed +10%   
Aura awareness while aura is concealed improved by 10%   
Concealed aura is harder to detect.

_That’s… really useful._

The information that came with the skill also included the basic theory of how it worked.

He had been correct in his assumption that the escaping aura was wasted. By containing it he could increase his aura regeneration. What he hadn’t realized that it would come with other effects that were just as useful.

Aura control was all about directing the flow of aura, this skill now allowed him to limit the flow as well. The efficiency of his skills will enhance as he learns to control that limiter. Of course, he could only contain the aura within his body. So aura skills that worked outside the body, like his emission would not gain anything.

Jaune also realized that he had used a part of this skill when he first unlocked his aura sight. The absence of one’s aura allowed them to see external sources of aura more clearly. If he concealed his aura while maintaining aura sight, he would be able to see aura more clearly.

With his concealment skill active, he was able to once again see Ren’s aura.

“I suppose this makes your match worthwhile, regardless of the result then, right?” Jaune asked.

“Hmm, it certainly is useful. It explains how you’ve grown as fast as you have. You’ve lost more than anyone, you must have learned so much.” Ren replied.

“Okay, first, ouch. But come on, I haven’t come that far. I still struggled against team CRDL after all.” Jaune said, gesturing at his leg.

“In case you forgot, Nora and I struggled in a match just like that. Not to mention team CRDL is much stronger than they used to be.” Ren countered.

That was a good point that Jaune had forgotten. Sure, he’d had Pyrrha to cover for him. Any team with Pyrrha has an advantage, but CRDL was much stronger as a team than they were a month ago.

“So, what now?” Jaune asked, changing the subject.

“I’m going to meditate and reflect on what I’ve learned. As long as you don’t get caught by Nora, you can do what you want. You did help me unlock this skill after all.” Ren answered.

“Right,” Jaune said, ending the conversation.

He pulled out his scroll and sent Pyrrha a quick text.

“Should I tell the professors or do you want to do it?”

“Pyrrha is busy right now but she said to let her handle it.”

The answer came from Pyrrha’s scroll, but it was certainly not her responding.

_Nora must have confiscated her phone. I don’t even want to think about what she is doing to her._

“Tell her to call me if she needs me then.” Jaune texted back. He doubted she would, especially with Nora calling the shots. But the offer needed to be made.

**/-/**

Jaune slowly pushed open the door to his dorm room. He had hoped that he could get in and pretend to sleep by meditating while they were out. Unfortunately, she was right inside with Pyrrha and had been for quite some time.

“Oh! Hey Jauney.” Nora cheerily greeted.

_She seems… better?_

“Hey… master…” Jaune obediently replied.

“Oh, right I told you to do that huh? Well, you can stop now, I’m over it now.” Said Nora with a smile.

_Oh, thank Oum._

“I’m glad to hear you’re not upset. I am sorry for missing that fight though.” Jaune apologized once more for good measure.

“It’s fine. Pyrrha covered for you.”

Now that he was looking, Pyrrha looked like she was… embarrassed?

“Well, thanks Pyrr-”

“So a camping trip huh?” Nora suddenly asked.

Jaune stopped mid-sentence, completely frozen.

_Does she know? Or does she just think she knows?_

“Yeah, it was pretty fun. Pyrrha made sandwiches.” Jaune replied.

“Is that all she did? Strange, that’s not what I heard.”

“She also helped me train to get used to flames. Pyrrha’s always ready to give a helping hand like that, you know?”

“No…” Pyrrha whined.

“A ‘helping hand’ huh? Yeah, that sounds more like what I heard.” She said, making air-quotes with her fingers.

“You told her?!” Jaune shouted once he knew for sure that she knew.

“Don’t put this on me! You got to go be buddy-buddy with Ren and learn a new skill from what I heard. You had the easy job!” Pyrrha shouted back, covering her face.

“Couldn’t you have just lied to her?” Jaune asked.

“Oh, she tried.” Nora cut in. “But she’s just no good at it. “

Pyrrha hung her head in shame since she had no rebuttal for that. Jaune sighed in response.

“Can we… can we just pretend like we never had this conversation?” Jaune asked.

Nora smiled.

Jaune pulled out his scroll and opened the Vytal Festival’s match list and thrust the screen at the two girls.

“So how about that next match huh? Pretty interesting, right? We should talk about that instead!” Jaune practically shouted, trying desperately to change the conversation.

“I haven’t had a chance to look at these yet.” Said Pyrrha as she leaned forward. “Ah, there we are. Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos versus-”

“Oh my god! You guys are up against Ruby and Weiss!” Nora shouted.

“Wait, what?!” said Jaune, turning the scroll around to confirm.

Sure enough, the second last match of the day read Jaune and Pyrrha against Ruby and Weiss.

“This has to be the worst possible match we could have asked for…” Jaune complained.

“It’s not that bad is it?” Pyrrha asked.

“I would genuinely take any other match. Even Blake and Yang are a better matchup for me. At least they have to come into range to fight me. Neither of us can catch Ruby and her rifle packs a big enough punch to chip away at my aura. You can probably dodge her shots at least. As for Weiss, her dust is going to demolish me…” Jaune explained.

Jaune had gotten faster over the last few weeks thanks to his aura step, but nobody was as fast as Ruby. She could move in any direction, across any terrain at a speed no one could hope to match. She and Weiss have dominated in every match they’ve been in. A stark contrast to how he struggled in his last match.

“Well, I hope you come up with a plan to fix that then.” Said Nora. “You have to win for team JNPR. We can’t let team RWBY get their entire team into the finals.”

“Don’t worry Nora. Jaune always finds a way, doesn’t he?” Pyrrha reassured.

_No pressure._

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 14**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 30 (75)**

**Fortitude: 35 (88)**

**Dexterity: 23 (57)**

**Aura: 30/30**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Construction: Level 0]  
** Reduced mistakes when performing construction or repair jobs.   
An innate understanding of structures comes with skill level.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **???**  
Increase the effect of aura skills.  
Secondary pool of aura.

 **[Aura Control: Level 6]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 26%   
All Aura abilities are 60% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 4]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 14(22) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 4]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 14(22) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(240)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 4]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura. Additionally, within the same radius, you can observe aura in all creatures that have it.  
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 100(160) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter when using aura.

 **[Aura Emission: Level 5]**   
Disconnect your aura from its source and project it outwards.   
Aura Emission techniques cost 50% more aura.   
Aura Emission techniques weaken over distance. 5% reduction over 1(1.6) meters.  
Aura Slash: For each 1(1.5) points of aura used in this technique, deal base attack damage + base aura spent x0.6

 **[Aura Step: Level 5]  
** Channel aura through your feet into a surface to generate increased friction and force.  
Error margin : 5%

 **[Aura Concealment: Level 0]**   
Aura Recovery while aura is concealed +10%   
Aura awareness while aura is concealed improved by 10%   
Concealed aura is harder to detect.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 5]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 15(24) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 2xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 8]**   
Aura Recovery Rate +180% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 9] (Passive)  
** Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 9] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 90%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 9%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 45%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 7] (Passive)  
** Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 70%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 35%

 **[Hand to Hand Skill: Level 4] (Passive)  
** Increase damage with all unarmed attacks by 20%  
Increase hit rate with all unarmed attacks by 4%  
Increase unarmed defense efficiency by 20%

 **[Willpower: Level 1]  
** Force your will onto others through your aura.  
Can simulate emotion or even cause a variety of mental conditions in the target.  
Use of this skill is also the defense against this skill.

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de** **grâce** **!]  
** A finishing blow to an injured opponent.  
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.  
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.  
Cooldown 3 seconds.  
Recharge 60 seconds.


	41. The Tournament III

Jaune woke up feeling entirely unrested.

He had spent the entire night agonizing over their coming match.

He couldn't help but feel his level of training was woefully inadequate. So instead of sleeping, he had chosen to meditate and practice his aura concealment. As he did, he tried to run over every possible scenario that he could come up with.

How he would deal with Ruby’s speed. How he would deal with her range and the weight of her blows with all their momentum. What he would do against Weiss’ dust, knowing that she could blow him to the moon if she used it all at once. He tried to come up with a solution for everything.

It was only when Pyrrha, who had also been struggling to sleep slid into his bed after midnight that he stopped. Not that he had chosen to of course. Pyrrha pulled him into her arms like a makeshift teddy bear. She ran her fingers through his hair like she was patting an animal. It must have been a comforting distraction for her, but it also served to put him to sleep.

When the pair made it to breakfast, almost everybody noticed their shared expressions.

“What’s wrong with you two?” Blake asked.

“Stayed up too late,” Jaune replied.

“Yeah? What were you both doing up so late together, hm?” Yang asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Trying to come up with a plan for beating your sister,” Jaune stated.

He didn't even register she was teasing him as he shoveled what little food he could stomach into his mouth.

“Well, I hope you didn’t come up with anything too serious. I’d like you to take it easy on my sister if you can.”

Ruby and Jaune both frowned.

“Ya-” Ruby started.

“That’s not happening.” Jaune unintentionally interrupted. He spared a moment to see if Ruby wanted to say what she was going to say but she didn’t. “I can’t afford to take it easy on your sister, or Weiss for that matter. Nor would I even if I could. I have too much respect for both of them for that.”

Ruby’s jaw dropped a little and her eyebrows rose.

“As you should.” Said Weiss.

“Do you mean that Jaune?” Ruby asked.

“Which part? Just because I’m with Pyrrha doesn’t mean the win is guaranteed. We’re both going to have to push ourselves to win. We lost to your team members once before because we weren’t up to par, we can’t go making a habit of it.” Jaune answered.

“I meant the other part. You respect us?”

“Of course he does. He knows our grades are top of the class and that we have performed admirably in all our matches. Even Jaune isn’t stupid enough to underestimate us.” Weiss answered for him.

“Pretty much what she said. If anyone here is underestimating anyone, it’s you, Ruby. You almost threw our last match.” Jaune stated. It was several months ago now, but he still remembered.

“No.” Ruby replied resolutely. “I won’t be making that mistake again. Sorry Jaune, but I’m going to be taking no chances with this match.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Pyrrha said, with a weak smile. She was just as tired as Jaune, if not more so. While he was mentally exhausted, she was emotionally drained too.

“Come on Pyrrha, let’s go get ready for the match. We have a few things to go over.” Jaune half lied.

He did want to discuss some plans with her, but he also wanted to clear the air. To make sure she wasn’t distracted by thoughts that she wasn’t sharing.

“I’ll see you both in the arena,” Jaune said to Ruby and Weiss. He then looked over the others. “Everyone else, well, wish us luck I guess.”

**/-/**

“Sorry I didn’t ask until now, but what’s been eating at you Pyrr?” Jaune asked once they were alone in a waiting room on the colosseum. “And don’t be vague, please. I know what it's about, give me some details.”

Pyrrha breathed a long, drawn-out sigh.

“Just worrying about things I don’t have any control over. What-ifs and how-abouts. I’ve already made my decision, but now I’m worried that it wasn’t the correct one.” She replied.

“It’s not too late to back out. I’m the only one you’ve told. The professors haven’t heard a word. You shouldn’t lock yourself into anything until you’re sure.”

“I don’t think I’m ever going to be sure of my answer.” She stated, lowering her guard for him.

Her shoulders dropped, and the dark circles under her eyes from the night of unrest seemed to worsen.

_I might not be able to help her find an answer, but I can do something about the tension she is feeling right now._

Jaune took off his gauntlets, grabbed her hips, and pulled her across the bench towards him.

“Eep!” She squeaked in mild surprise. “Jaune, what are you doing?”

“Turn around,” Jaune ordered.

Pyrrha obliged, showing him her back by spinning to her right. Jaune immediately got to work massaging the tightly wound muscles of her shoulders.

“This kind of tension is going to slow you down in the match. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate right now... But maybe the right thing to do is put it aside for now and lose yourself in something you enjoy.” He suggested.

“That doesn’t sound very responsible. I should be giving this the attention it deserves. It’s important.” Pyrrha responded.

“It is important. But so is your health. Take these few hours, let loose and go a little crazy, Ruby and Weiss can take it. Then when the match is over, win or lose, we can talk it over some more. Work ourselves to the bone for the rest of the day to come to a decision.”

Jaune tried introducing some more of his aura and willpower to the massage. He knew that visualization profoundly shaped the impact of his willpower. He wanted her relaxed, so he tried to remember the scent his sister had used on him.

Pyrrha hummed appreciatively and leaned into his massage a bit more.

“You’re good at that.” Said Pyrrha.

“Just another one of those things I was forced to learn from my sisters. I had to give a lot of massages growing up. The aura stuff is new though.”

“It’s nice. You used it on me yesterday too didn’t you? During the dance as well. It feels... nice.”

“You said nice twice.” Jaune teased.

She responded by slapping behind herself, hitting him in the thigh.

“I don’t know how to explain it. It just feels like you. Sometimes I can feel something specific come through, but you always have this... flavor, I guess.” Pyrrha tried to explain.

“A flavor?”

“Mhm. It’s savory and warm. It reminds me of trips to the beach with my family. It’s comforting.”

“That’s specific...” Jaune admitted. “Can you channel your aura for me?”

“Hm? Like this?” Pyrrha asked as she generated her aura shield, bringing it all to the surface.

The surface of her skin gently thrummed with power. It was wilder than Ren’s or his own. Pure aura control wasn’t her strong suit after all. Instead, her powerful Semblance and creative use of it was her specialty. It was this sensation of wildness that stood out. Like the Forever Fall forest with which she shared the color of her aura, there was beauty and danger.

“Well?” Pyrrha asked.

“It’s certainly you,” Jaune answered.

“Ever the poet Jaune. Care to be a bit more descriptive perhaps?” She teased.

“You kind of remind me of a Grimm infested forest.”

“Well. That’s not the answer I wanted to hear. Not quite as romantic as the ocean, is it?”

“I don’t know. I like it.” Jaune took his hands off her neck and wrapped them around her waist from behind. “I met you in a Grimm infested forest, how bad can they be.”

“We both nearly died in one 48 hours later too if I recall.”

“But it was exciting, no? We took out that Deathstalker together. You unlocked my aura and taught me how to use it. They’re special memories to me. Frankly, I think we owe a lot to the Grimm in that forest.”

“Jaune! They are quite literally the enemy of mankind.” Pyrrha scolded.

Jaune shrugged.

“What can I say, you’re worth it.” He said, accenting it with a kiss just below her ear.

He felt her melt in his arms.

“So what’s your plan for this match?” She asked.

“Oh? Back to business are we?” Jaune asked with a smirk and she softly elbowed him under the ribs. “I wasn’t able to calculate anything specific. You’re going to have to make decisions and fight by yourself, and I’m going to have to do the same. But as much as possible, it’s in our interest to stick as close to each other and a single opponent as possible.”

“Is that wise? They both specialize in area of effect attacks. If we stay close together, they can get us both at the same time.” Pyrrha asked.

“True, but as long as we stick to one of them, they risk friendly fire. Individually, they have an advantage against us with this plan. Fortunately, their teamwork suffers from it. Meanwhile, our teamwork makes us more than the sum of our parts. Though, this isn’t a fool-proof plan. Weiss and Ruby aren’t useless with precision combat. It stops them from using their more devastating attacks, but they’ll still be a threat. If they separate me from you, I think you’d be fighting an uphill battle 1 on 2.” Jaune explained.

The TV flicked on in their waiting room, a sign that the first match would soon be about to begin. Coco and Fox would be facing off against Mercury and Emerald from team CMSN.

“Like I said, as far as plans go, stick together. Everything else depends on how well we can get our heads in the game and pull it off.” Jaune concluded.

Pyrrha nodded.

Jaune sensed that she would slip again into her thoughts if he let the conversation end here.

“Who do you think will win out of these two teams?” Jaune asked, trying to keep her busy.

“Hard to say. An assassin and a... What is Emerald again?” Pyrrha asked.

“She’s a...” Jaune stopped and thought for a second. He was sure he knew, but for some reason, he couldn’t remember. “I don’t know actually. She fights with those gun-chain-sickle-things so maybe a ninja or something?”

“Yeah, that sounds about right. So, the match is an assassin and a ninja up against a heavy gunner and a monk. It’s not a common matchup and they’ve both performed very well in their previous matches. Team CFVY is strong, how strong is team CMSN?”

“Cinder was impressive. I think she could fight on par with you if she was at her best, if only for a little while. But she dropped out last round. I think her nerves got to her. If Mercury and Emerald are even half as good as Cinder was in our short spar, I think they’d beat team CFVY.”

The terrains for this match turned out to be forest, savannah, urban, and geyser. None of which were blatantly an advantage for either team.

“I guess we’ll have to watch and see. When we make it through this round we may be facing them as our next opponents in the finals.” Said Pyrrha

_If we make it._

When the match started, watching it became quite a leisurely experience. With Pyrrha still wrapped up in his arms, they both pointed out points of interest in the match. For a time, they were just two more spectators in the crowd.

Jaune pointed out how Mercury was interfering with Coco’s ability to use her mini-gun. By guiding her and Fox into each other, they risked friendly fire. He explained that it was exactly the sort of thing they should aim to do to Ruby and Weiss. Later on, Pyrrha was quite impressed by Emerald's mobility and stealth. She used the curved hooks of her weapon to fling herself from branch to branch within the forest. She even managed to sneak up behind her and land a direct blow to the back of Coco’s neck, eliminating her from the match.

It was a match worthy of the last round of doubles. Of course, the excitement was soured by the fact that there was now only one more match until it was their turn.

Within a few minutes, the next competitors were making their way onto the stage.

Sun and Neptune were facing off against Penny Polendina and Ciel Soleil from Atlas.

Jaune knew for a fact that both Sun and Neptune were strong fighters. Under normal circumstances, he would put his money on them. But from what he had heard the other day of their opponent’s performance, he wasn’t so sure.

All the fighters were at least of a level where a two on one fight should be a challenge for the one fighting alone. But she had won her fight without taking a single hit. And more to the point, it had been done while her partner sat back and watched. They had the skills and the confidence to back them up.

“Did you catch up on this team yesterday Pyrr?” Jaune asked.

“No, I didn’t. Should I have?”

Jaune nodded.

“The orange-haired girl took out a pair from Atlas without taking a scratch. All by herself.” Jaune watched through the screen as she gave an innocent salute to her opponents. “She seems nice enough, but she’s probably right up there with team RWBY and you in skill.”

“Hmmm... Well, I suppose I’ll have to wait and see.”

This match, for the first time, revealed the gravity terrain. A series of floating platforms with multicolored lights lining each edge. In terms of actual cover, there was none. With that said, fighting in that terrain at all would be an exercise for the brain.

Other than the gravity terrain it was lava, mountain, and urban. No water terrain for Neptune to use or run from.

Jaune hopped up from the bench. His pre-match anxiety was starting to get the better of him, so he started to get his body warm. Frankly, he didn’t need it. He’d gone from rested to fighting conditions plenty of times before in class or for the other matches. He just wanted to do something.

“Nervous?” Pyrrha asked, catching him out almost immediately.

“Yes.” He replied honestly. “I get you’ve done this before, but how are you not nervous?”

“I’m excited. I’ve got butterflies in my stomach just thinking about our match. I can’t wait to see if they’ve got some tricks up their sleeves.”

“I’m certain they do, and that only makes it worse.”

Pyrrha laughed. While his mood was worsening as the match drew closer, it seemed that hers was improving.

“Come on Mr. Vanguard, you can handle two little girls can’t you?” Pyrrha teased.

“Please. We both know they’re not just ‘little girls’. They’re monsters. How does a fifteen-year-old girl learn to fight like that?”

“I was fighting in tournaments just like this when I was thirteen. She is good though.”

_Then you’re just as much of a monster as she is._

Jaune chose not to verbalize his thoughts and focused on his stretches.

“Here, let me help.” Pyrrha suddenly offered.

She planted a foot in the small of his back and pushed his chest to the floor between his spread legs. His groin muscles were stretched to their limit.

“Ah!” Jaune groaned in surprise.

“Should we come back later?” Yang asked from the doorway.

Jaune tried to crane his head around to look at who else was here. Pyrrha absent-mindedly pushed down on him harder as she did the same.

“No, we’re just doing some light stretching to warm up for the match,” Pyrrha replied.

_Light?_

“I can see that... We were just on our way from Ruby and Weiss’ room to go to our seats to watch your match. Figured we should at least wish you a little luck, even if we are hoping you’ll lose.” Said Yang.

“Appreciate it.” Jaune groaned from the floor.

“I think Jaune might be sufficiently stretched...” said Blake, alerting Jaune to her presence.

Pyrrha only now seemed to remember she was pressing the heel of her shoe into his spine, and let him up. Jaune sprung back like a released spring. The back of his chest plate slammed into the ground with a loud clang.

“Thanks, Blake,” Jaune said as he slowly hopped back to his feet.

“Don’t mention it. Anyway, we’re off.”

“Right, see ya,” Jaune replied.

“We’ll put on a good show for you.” Added Pyrrha.

As Blake and Yang left, Jaune snuck up behind Pyrrha.

“Your turn!” He shouted as he linked his arms around her arms at the elbow and pulled her off her feet. Typically it was meant to be a back and hip stretch for partners.

Pyrrha moved with it, rolling over Jaune’s shoulders and landing with both feet facing Jaune.

She gave him an incredibly smug look and Jaune nearly growled. “No fair.”

“Says the one launching a sneak attack.” She replied.

“I’ll show you a sneak attack.”

Jaune launched a series of attacks, attempting to grapple his partner. It devolved into what almost resembled a game of tag, making a mess of their changing room. They were so distracted that they managed to miss the entire match that they had been about to watch. Partly because of their impromptu competition, but also because of how short it had been.

Before they knew it, they were being called to the arena.

**/-/**

“Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos!” Professor Port announced.

“I still can’t believe you couldn’t just let me get a little payback. You deserve it.” Jaune complained.

“You can get your payback when you’ve earned it.” Pyrrha retorted as she waved to the crowd.

“And their opponents, Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee!” Doctor Oobleck declared.

Yang’s cheering could be heard over the deafening cries of the crowd.

Ruby gave a small wave after she burst onto the stage with her Semblance. Weiss followed behind her, walking her usual professional pace.

“The crowd is really into it today Peter, so let’s not waste any time!”

The arena terrain display began to whir.

Behind them, forest.

_Shouldn’t be a problem._

To their right, a swamp.

_Okay... That gives Ruby and Weiss a bit of an advantage. Their Semblances let them ignore the terrain whereas we have to slog through it._

Behind team RWBY, an urban setting.

_Probably won’t get to use that unless they retreat. Still though, not too bad._

Finally, to their left, the volcano terrain.

_Shit._

None of these terrains outright gave them an advantage. Meanwhile, the two side terrains were a distinct disadvantage for Jaune. From the get-go, he was restricted to running straight forward, or straight back. The volcano was technically useable terrain, but he couldn’t afford to slow down. He was already subconsciously making a fist and tensing up in the shoulders.

_Just ignore them. Think of something else._

Pyrrha was jumping on her toes like a small girl who was about to be set free inside a candy store. Her long red hair, pulled back into her trademark ponytail, was bouncing side to side like the tail of a dog, wagging in their joy.

The image made Jaune laugh and he shook out some of the tension.

“That’s more like it!” Pyrrha cheerfully encouraged from beside him. “You stress too much when you fight. You’ll never be my match if you can’t learn to love this.”

The countdown started, and Jaune tried to formulate his plan of action.

Though he was calmer, distracted, the problem didn’t go away. He would still have an issue with flames.

All of a sudden, Jaune noticed something.

Weiss was looking right at him.

She had been so dismissive all this time, so hyper-focused on his partner being the real threat.

_Three!_

It wasn’t because she thought he wasn’t an issue.

_Two!_

It was because she’d long since made a plan to deal with him right from the start.

_One!_

Jaune took one final glance to confirm his suspicions. Her rapier was already set to her fire dust cartridge.

“Pyrrha, dodge!” Jaune shouted, the second the alarm sounded.

Not a second later, Weiss expelled the entirety of the dust in one single roaring inferno.

To be able to summon that much fire was intimidating enough. The risk of it blowing up in your face instead of at the target’s location wasn’t zero. What made it much more terrifying, was that she was controlling it after it had been released.

It was a technique that Jaune knew mages were capable of. It was what made them famous and gave them such varied skills. He’d even hoped to emulate that skill with his aura control. But Weiss was a specialist in her element. She had likely trained this kind of talent since she unlocked her class.

The flames gushed out in a single beam at first. It cut a path between both Jaune and Pyrrha who jumped to their respective side of the wall of fire.

_There goes the plan of sticking together._

The close encounter with flames of that level had slowed his reactions. He was a tenth of a second slower at most, but it was enough for Weiss to capitalize on.

She summoned glyphs at both ends of the flame, creating a circuit. The flames wrapped around him, creating a barrier that locked him in the terrain behind him, with no way out.

“Jaune!” Pyrrha shouted.

Jaune panicked, looking for a way out. The flames flowed around the trees that got in the road and set them all aflame. The foliage quickly spread the fire through the entire canopy. He was surrounded on almost every side, including up. The only way out that he could see was to jump off the platform, disqualifying himself.

“Sorry, Pyrrha. We know it’s not exactly nice to do this to Jaune when he is still getting over it, but we have to win this. Just be thankful that we didn't hurt him.” Weiss apologized.

Even through the crackling of the wood around him, Jaune managed to hear that, and it frustrated the hell out of him.

She could be pushing these flames toward him at least. Take him out of the fight properly with some real damage.

Instead, she was leaving him trapped in a cage that wouldn't even work on the average huntsman. It worked only because they knew he was afraid of it.

With his aura sight, Jaune could see that Ruby and Weiss had begun to focus their attention on Pyrrha. Apparently, Weiss’ glyphs required no maintenance. Based on the visage of her aura, she wasn’t even watching this part of the battlefield anymore.

Ruby got up close and personal, using her regular lethal fighting style. The sound of her high caliber rounds firing and the air itself rang out over the arena. Jaune, while still distracted by his surroundings, was keeping a close eye on his partner. Normally she would be able to handle her, but something wasn’t right.

Her landings seemed to fail as if she couldn’t get any grip on the ground beneath her. Weiss couldn’t have turned the floor into ice though, Ruby was managing just fine.

Jaune concealed his aura and tried to ignore the ambient heat which was now much more irritating. With his aura concealed, he was able to see aura with more clarity through the wall of flames. Weiss was placing glyphs beneath Pyrrha when she tried to dodge. She was literally moving the ground out from underneath her.

Unable to put any force into her counterattacks or dodge the way she wanted to, she was fighting a losing battle. Jaune noticed a faint black aura around Ruby’s scythe that matched the one around Pyrrha’s armor.

_She must be using her Semblance to redirect Ruby’s scythe while pushing herself around in mid-air._

Still, as the mistakes began to add up, Ruby got closer and closer to landing a direct blow.

_I’ve got to do something, fast._

Weiss was facing away from him, entirely focused on her role of disrupting Pyrrha. Ruby meanwhile was constantly darting around. He wouldn’t be able to do anything about Ruby seeing him. He doubted he could predict her movement that perfectly. But he didn’t necessarily need to.

Jaune reactivated his aura shield, cutting off the worst of the heat around him. As he did, he started to prepare himself for a maximum speed burst that combined all of his techniques.

He readied his aura step and his muscle augmentation so that he could move as fast as possible. He channeled his aura into Crocea Mors, prepared to release an aura slash.

_You can do this. You’ve done this all before. These are just a little bigger._

Pyrrha stumbled once more, but Jaune knew it was in a way that Ruby would finally be able to capitalize on. This was the moment he was waiting for.

Jaune released the aura slash vertically through the flames. The instant he did he concealed his aura everywhere except his feet. As his aura cut through the flames, he dashed through right behind it. He kept his body as small and low to the ground as he could.

He heard the sound of steel on steel as Ruby’s strike landed.

“Weiss, look out!” Ruby shouted not a second later.

His aura stopped dead in its tracks. Weiss had managed to stop his weakened aura slash with her rapier. What she didn’t stop was Jaune’s sword that cut through his first attack, overpowering her defense.

His blow didn't contact flesh directly. But the sheer weight of his sword pushing the blade of her rapier was enough to send her flying through the air. To confirm his strike’s success, his eyes darted to the match display. Her aura was plummeting.

A golden light streaked away from Weiss’ rapier, striking Ruby. A clock-like glyph appeared beneath her feet.

“Weiss Schnee has been eliminated!” Both professors shouted from the commentator's box.

Jaune was about to celebrate, having turned the match into a two on one in their favor after such a poor start. But before he even had a chance to blink, Ruby disappeared. From her position across the battlefield, she appeared right beside him.

“Wha-” Jaune tried to respond.

Ruby’s first strike hit him square across the shield which he was holding in a loose position across his chest. The speed and force with which she struck would have been enough to have knocked him backward. The three strikes from each other direction stopped that.

In the end, Jaune was actually knocked upwards into the air where Ruby was already waiting. She brought a downward strike down onto him, but his shield moved in the way, absorbing the blow. The black aura surrounding his shield let Jaune know that Pyrrha had covered for him and kept him in the match.

Even still, the blow knocked Jaune to the ground, leaving him with barely a third of his aura remaining. Not even enough to use his techniques to their fullest.

“Thanks for the save.” Said Jaune as he hopped onto his feet.

He tried his best to follow Ruby’s movement. She was a red blur of petals with golden streaks of lightning arcing away from her as she moved. Whatever Weiss had done had taken Ruby’s speed up to a whole new level.

_There’s no way she can keep this up indefinitely. Weiss has been eliminated, so she can’t be fueling this ability anymore._

“Pyrrha, we just need to outlast this speed boost. Focus on defense.” Jaune ordered.

Pyrrha nodded and held her shield at the ready with her sword held in a reverse grip. They each stood back to back, eliminating each other’s blind spots.

_If I was Ruby, I’d want to make the most of this. I went over her fighting style hundreds of times last night, I can do this. I’m already weakened and low on aura whereas Pyrrha is still in the green. She’ll want to take out Pyrrha and leave me for when she is back to normal._

“Pyrrha, do you trust me?” he asked.

“Of course.” She replied.

“Good.”

Jaune waited for the second, the very instant that he lost sight of Ruby. He didn’t bother checking where she had gone to. Instead, he wrapped his sword arm around his partner’s at the elbow and flipped her over his torso. As he did so, he moved his shield into where she had been.

Exactly as expected, Ruby had gone for his partner. At those speeds, changing your mind was impossible. Her scythe slammed into Jaune’s shield.

With his stance poor from having displaced Pyrrha, he was sent flying.

While mid-air he adjusted his position in a way he had seen Pyrrha do hundreds of times before to land on his feet. With a thrust, he slammed the point of his sword into the arena floor. Even with the added friction of his aura step and his blade, he still wound up sliding into the swamp zone.

When he was finally steady, he checked the battlefield he had been thrown from. Ruby was no longer a red and gold blur, but instead back in her human form, fending off attacks from Pyrrha. Her Semblance made her fast enough to stay away from Pyrrha's attacks normally. But Pyrrha was using her own to slow her down by restraining the movement of her scythe.

Jaune was out of breath, low on aura, and with his fair share of developing bruises. But he knew there was just one more push until they won this thing.

Jaune ran back into combat, circling to Ruby’s back. Normally she would reposition herself and reset the fight to her advantage. But she would never do anything without her weapon. With Pyrrha holding it, she was forced to move at the speed her strength would allow her. Which is to say, not fast enough to both avoid Pyrrha’s counter-attack, and Jaune’s grapple.

As Ruby blocked a blow from Pyrrha, Jaune grabbed the handle of Ruby’s scythe.

Ruby’s was forced to mechashift her scythe to break Jaune’s grip while using her Semblance to get away. Unfortunately for her, Jaune had long since learned that trick.

More than once in his mental simulations of the fight had he seen this exact situation popping up. He had memorized exactly where to grab such that his grip was not broken.

Pyrrha knocked her out of her Semblance with a strong thrust from her spear. With her grip weakened, Jaune ripped the weapon out of her hands and threw it out of the ring.

“No!” Ruby shouted, bursting after her weapon. Her speed almost matched her enhanced state from earlier.

Unfortunately, controlling those kinds of speeds were incredibly difficult. Trying to react to external stimuli at the same time was too tall an order.

Pyrrha redirected her scythe so that it spun off to the side. Ruby, however, could not redirect. She normally used the very same weapon she was chasing to change directions mid-air.

Ruby slammed into the wall that divided the seats from the arena. Her weapon clattered onto the ground a short distance away.

With barely any of her aura actually lost, Ruby had been disqualified by ring-out.

“Our winners: Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos!” professor Port announced.

The crowd went wild and Jaune couldn’t blame them. He let out a victory cry right alongside them.

“Pyrrha! We did it!” Jaune shouted.

“I told you we would be fine.” She said confidently.

“Yeah I know, but we actually did it!” Jaune said, repeating himself in his excitement.

Pyrrha laughed.

“I believe now the sportsmanlike thing to do would be to check on our opponents,” Pyrrha advised, having no doubt gone through what he was feeling many times before.

Jaune raced over to Ruby, leaping off the arena to help her up. She hadn’t needed it, as her actual damage was negligible, but she had taken it anyway.

“Good fight.” Said Ruby.

“Mhm! It was. That thing you did, with Weiss. That was a cool move. If I’d guessed wrong we might have been toast.” Jaune admitted.

“Perhaps,” Weiss said from behind. “But if I had have listened to all the times I was told not to underestimate you, we could have won long before that.”

Jaune had been frustrated at first, but it was clear no one was more frustrated than Weiss herself.

“I did warn you.” Jaune teased. “It was a smart move though, especially with the forest behind me. Your glyphs worked so well on Pyrrha too. It was a close fight!”

“You’re not wrong. Though I still had a few tricks up my sleeve, were it not for Jaune you would have given me quite the run for my money.” Pyrrha admitted as she finally dropped down to join them.

Weiss huffed and Ruby gave her a sympathetic look. They had both wanted this win so badly, and Jaune could see that.

“Come on Pyrrha. Let’s let these two catch up with the rest of their team. They probably don’t want us hanging around right now.” Said Jaune.

“Jaune, wait,” Ruby said, reaching out and grabbing his arm. “Thanks for the fight.”

_She’s thanking me?_

“You’re welcome?” Jaune cautiously responded.

Ruby shook her head. “I mean it. You always give it your all in our matches, not everyone does. When my sister told you to take it easy this morning, I was worried you might hold back. But you really gave it your all and took me down. I would’ve been mad with you if I’d won because of something like that.”

Ruby then raced up and wrapped her arms around him in a very quick and embarrassing hug. Jaune looked in Pyrrha’s direction as if to relay his innocence, but she was already laughing at his expense.

When she finally let him go, they said their final goodbyes and went back to their waiting rooms.

**/-/**

“That. Was. Amazing!” Nora shouted directly into their faces, temporarily deafening Jaune.

“I hadn’t realized you’d learned so many aura techniques Jaune. To use them all simultaneously as you did, you’d make quite the monk.” Ren praised.

“And did you see Pyrrha? She was flipping all over the place like an acrobat! I mean, we all knew she could move, but damn. That’s how the champ does it!” Nora continued.

“It wasn’t that impressive. Anyone here could do it if they tried.” Pyrrha humbly deflected.

“Yeah, I’m going to have to disagree with you there Pyrr. I relied on you holding them off like you did that entire match. From the start to the end, you gave me the space I needed to pull off the tricks I did.” Said Jaune.

“Speaking of, how did you know where Ruby was going to strike? We didn’t see Ruby until you had already blocked her. Even the slow-motion cameras had trouble playing it smoothly.” Nor asked.

“That’s a good question. Jaune, how did you know? I could barely follow her and my dexterity is much higher than yours.” Said Pyrrha.

“Well... It was a gamble. I didn’t know and I couldn’t follow her. I was just pretty sure that’s what she was going to do. She was moving in straight lines to maximize her speed and I was already nearly out. I just assumed she’d attack you in a straight line and hope to hit you before you could react.” Jaune explained.

“Excellently said, Mr. Arc.” Said Professor Ozpin from the doorway. "Your powers of observation have improved immensely."

“Professor Ozpin!” Pyrrha exclaimed.

“A splendidly fought match Ms. Nikos. You and your partner make Beacon proud. Ms. Valkyrie, Ren, if I may have a moment alone with your team members?” The professor asked, stepping aside from the door to let them out.

Jaune and Pyrrha waved to their teammates who said they would meet them back at the dorms.

“What’s this about Oz? You weren’t visiting every other team after their matches, were you?” Jaune asked.

He shook his head.

“No, I am here for what we discussed earlier. Tomorrow is the last day of the festival. All three rounds will be fought over the course of the day. We need to hear your answer.” The professor explained.

Jaune gave Pyrrha a querying look. They were supposed to have one more day to come to a decision and talk things over. Despite this, shit confidently gave him a nod before turning her attention to the professor.

“I’ll do it,” Pyrrha stated.

“But-” Jaune interrupted the professor before he could respond. “We have two conditions.”

“Very well.” The professor replied.

“You’ve got our answer right now, but I want my fight with Jaune to come first. That means tomorrow or the day after is the earliest we can... perform the transfer.” Pyrrha stated.

“And the second is that once she has the powers, our team starts training immediately. No red tape, no administration. The minute Pyrrha is in danger, someone takes us on full time. Not a few hours a day once a week like how you trained me.” Jaune added.

The professor nodded.

“Both are agreeable. And for what it’s worth Jaune, I apologize that I wasn’t as hands-on as I wanted to be. Had none of this happened, I can assure you I would have been a better teacher.” Jaune nodded. “Very well then. When you both finish your matches, meet me in my office. Until then, I wish you the best of luck.”


	42. Intermission II

Jaune waited for the professor to leave before turning on his partner.

“You changed your tune pretty fast. I thought we were going to talk things over.”

Pyrrha shrugged.

“We were... But you were right. I just needed to clear my head and reset my perspective. I was getting myself tied up in knots worrying about it. But after a fight like that, it seemed so simple. I either take this, and I do my best, or I let someone take my place.”

“Would that be so bad?” Jaune asked.

“If something bad were to happen to someone else because of that choice, I’d never forgive myself. At least this way, I can do everything in my power to get a happy ending for everyone involved.” She answered.

“Then I guess we need to tell Ren and Nora then.”

“A-ah.” Pyrrha faltered.

“Did you forget that part? We have to tell them, and we don’t have long either. We’ll likely be heading back to Atlas with the general after the transfer. That means... Tonight, or tomorrow at the latest.”

“Tomorrow then. I didn’t think that far ahead.”

“Will we have time tomorrow? We have our matches to think about.”

“I’ll work something out, it’ll be fine. More importantly-”

Jaune’s scroll going off interrupted her, causing her to frown.

Jaune picked it up and saw that it was a call from Lisa Lavender. He went to put it away again, but Pyrrha caught him.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?” she asked.

“It can wait, we were-”

“No, it’s fine. Go ahead.” Pyrrha urged.

Jaune shrugged before accepting the call.

“Hey, what’s up?” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha mouthed to turn on the speaker, so he did.

“Got time for that second interview?” She asked, cutting straight to the point.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha for confirmation and she nodded her head.

“You sure?” he asked, covering the microphone with his hand.

“Tell her I’ll come with you too.”

_What is she planning?_

“Hello? Did you cut out?” Lisa asked.

“Sorry, yeah I can make time for an interview. Do you mind if my partner comes along?” Jaune answered.

“Do I mind? What kind of question is that? Of course, she can come along! How about we meet at the Crow Bar in an hour? I think having the two of you in a casual environment would look better. You’re both celebrities, if only barely. Seeing you relaxing after a match like that lets people know you’re not that different.”

_She has certainly put a lot of thought into this._

“That sounds great, we’ll be there,” Pyrrha answered for him before pressing the hang-up button.

“What was that?” Jaune asked.

“Come on, let’s go get ready,” Pyrrha replied, completely ignoring him.

Pyrrha hoisted him up by the arm and began to drag him out the door.

“You’re acting weird, what are you planning?”

“Come on, you trust me, don’t you?”

_That’s a trap if I’ve ever heard one._

“Sure...” Jaune relented.

“Good, that means I don’t need to keep dragging you. I need both hands free.” Said Pyrrha, releasing him and pulling out her scroll.

She began to type with a ferocious pace, so Jaune tried to sneak a glimpse at what she was doing.

“No peeking!” She scolded, using her Semblance to push him away without stopping.

Jaune sighed. He would just have to wait and see.

**/-/**

“Where’s Nora and Ren?” Jaune asked, looking around their room. “They said they’d meet us here.”

“Who knows,” Pyrrha replied.

_Suspicious._

“Come on. Get into your good clothes.” Pyrrha ordered, pulling them out of his closet and throwing them at him.

“Aren’t you going to get changed? You’re still in your combat gear.”

“My combat gear is my image. It’s not too late for you to pick something different than a hoodie and jeans.”

“You like my hoodie and jeans!” Jaune whined.

Pyrrha sighed.

“Yes, I do. I think they’re very cute. Now get undressed.” Pyrrha demanded.

His armor fell to the floor as Pyrrha loosened the straps with her Semblance. Jaune grumbled but got changed as requested. The whole time, Pyrrha was madly tapping away at her scroll.

In truth, Jaune didn’t mind how he looked in his suit. It was a bit tighter than it used to be, especially around the chest. His increase in strength had been accompanied by decent growth in muscle. Something that Pyrrha had been happy to point out in the past. But it wasn’t until he wore form-fitting clothes instead of his baggy hoodie that he noticed. He might have to go buy something new soon. It would probably end up being white instead of black though if Atlas had its way.

“Can you at least give me a hint of what you’re planning?” Jaune asked as his curiosity escalated.

Pyrrha looked up from her scroll for the first time in several minutes.

“Oh good, you’re done changing. Let’s go then.” She said, ignoring his question.

She corralled him out the door, through the school, and into a bullhead set for Vale. His repeated attempts to draw some information from her went ignored.

Jaune checked his scroll after they landed. Even if they walked slowly they would be there almost half an hour early. Despite this, Pyrrha was pushing him at the same hurried pace as before.

In what felt like no time at all, they arrived at the Crow Bar. It was a cozy little place that couldn’t fit more than a dozen patrons at once. They had a few TVs replaying scenes from the tournaments on different channels. There was also a great view of the water on the other side of the building.

“I’ll have a vodka cranberry,” Pyrrha said to the bartender.

“Wait, what?” Jaune asked, turning around to see her sitting at the bar already.

“Do you want anything?” She asked, ignoring his question.

“Since when do you drink?” Jaune stubbornly pushed on.

Pyrrha gave a cheeky smile. “Since today! What’s the harm? With our aura, we’ll filter the alcohol out in no time. The only reason I didn’t before is... well... let’s just say it won’t be an issue after today.”

Jaune sat down beside her, giving her a weird look for what she just said. She seemed content to continue ignoring him like she had been all morning.

“I’ve never ordered anything before, what should I get?” Jaune asked the bartender.

“Gin and soda.” The man behind the bar explained as he made and passed Jaune a drink.

Jaune tried a sip and it was barely different from straight lemonade. He couldn’t help but think that defeated the point of it being alcoholic. After all, as Pyrrha said, they wouldn’t be getting drunk off these any time soon.

“Good?” Pyrrha asked.

“It’s alright,” Jaune replied.

“Let me try some?” asked Pyrrha as she reached over to grab his glass.

Jaune casually slid his drink just out of her reach.

“Want to tell me what’s going on yet?”

Pyrrha looked at the bartender who was standing nearby, though politely to the side.

“Don’t worry about me. Us bartenders know when to gossip and when to keep a secret.” He said in an instant.

Pyrrha put her hand out for Jaune’s drink, and he slid it into her hands. She nodded approvingly.

“I wasn’t allowed to be seen in places like bars or clubs, let alone go drinking. I had a very family-friendly image. Children’s cereal and beating my opponents to a pulp was somehow the combination I wound up with. But for a few reasons, I won’t be needing to worry about that anymore.” She finally explained.

“You’re quitting?”

“Mhm! Well, that or they’re going to cancel my contract after they see our match. If I know you, it’s going to be messy. With everything going on, I thought ‘it’s time to focus on the future’.”

“Is that why you were on your scroll all day today? You were contacting your managers?”

Pyrrha paused for a moment.

“Sure, that’s what it was.” She lied.

“You are such a bad liar.” Jaune laughed.

He reached over and tried some of Pyrrha’s drink. It was better than his.

“So that’s why you wanted to come along then? For your first drink?”

“Sure.” She lied once more.

_So evasive..._

**/-/**

Jaune and Pyrrha tried a few more drinks over the next half hour. They even managed to catch up on the final match of the day. Yang and Blake earned a win over their opponents Yatsuhashi and Velvet. Yang faced off against Yatsu whose strength seemed to outmatch her own. Initially, she was on the back foot, but she managed to use her Semblance to turn the tide in an instant. All of the stored up damage was used in a single counter punch to her opponent's jaw. Even with aura, his brain must have been bouncing around inside his skull for hours. Velvet kept Blake busy by constantly switching styles and weapons every few exchanges. It was a great plan until Blake lucked out and got a good matchup she could exploit before Velvet’s next swap.

With their win, half the competitors in the top eight were from Beacon’s first-year.

“You two got started without me.” Jaune turned to see Lisa and a pair of cameramen behind her stroll into the bar.

“Wasn’t my idea. Blame Miss Future-Alcoholic over here.” Jaune teased.

“I wasn’t that bad, I just wanted to try a few different things and see what I like.” Pyrrha countered.

“Yeah, and you liked all of them. A few that I bought too.”

Pyrrha hung her head in mock shame. She didn’t have much to say in response with the small pile of glasses stacked behind her.

“Well, at least I don’t have to worry about catching up. You two burned through all of those and you’re not even buzzed. It seems that aura does more for women than just making your skin look good into your sixties.” Lisa said, a hint of jealousy evident in her voice. “I’ll have a beer.”

“So how are we going to do this one? You’ve got the cameras instead of just the mics and a notepad. It won’t be live will it?” Jaune asked.

“Nah. Contrary to popular belief, the best way to get the juicy details from people we interview isn’t to trick them live. Instead, it’s to let them get comfortable and see what they let slip that way.” Lisa explained.

“Is that why we’re having it here at a bar?” Jaune asked.

“I meant what I said earlier... but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t also helpful for me too.” Lisa took a much larger sip at her drink than he’d expected before continuing. “Shall we get started?”

A small red light blinked into life on the camera. The cameramen adjusted themselves so they were getting a good shot. The bartender sighed and moved to the far end of the bar where he was out of shot.

Lisa gave a small introduction for both herself, the Vale News Network, and Jaune and Pyrrha. It probably wouldn’t even make it into the final cut, but it did a good job of setting the atmosphere for a talk. Finally, however, her introduction ended and she dived right into the questioning.

“So, you two have made your way into the top eight for tomorrow’s final rounds. Would you care to say anything about your opponents thus far?”

“Oh, me first!” Pyrrha exclaimed. “Team CRDL came prepared with some fascinating skills. Tournaments like these are often so focused on how they can eliminate their opponent. Ring-outs and knockouts are key. But they came into the match looking to simulate real battlefield conditions. There’s nothing in the rules about injuring an opponent through their aura, it just doesn’t happen often. With a solid armbar, an arm can be broken with or without aura. I was very impressed with that.”

Jaune nodded. “I’m still studying how their skills worked. For them it was automatic. From my perspective though, they were using some very high-level aura techniques. I’d wager even someone far more skilled than I would struggle to copy them.”

“Jaune, I don’t think she wants to hear those kinds of details.” Pyrrha gently scolded.

“Sorry, then how about team RWBY? Ruby and Weiss’ trump card was amazing to watch, not that you really could watch it. Faster than the eye, faster than the slow-motion cameras too from what I heard. There’s not a Grimm on the planet that’s a threat for Ruby in that form.”

“And yet you were able to beat her. A lot of viewers at home are sure to be wondering how you pulled it off. Care to share your secret?” Lisa prompted.

Pyrrha smiled and looked away, already knowing the answer.

“No secret. I got super lucky. I’d spent the entire night simulating spar after spar with her using the knowledge of how she fights. I didn’t know she’d move that fast, but I just had a feeling that’s where she’d be. Frankly, if she had have come at us from any other angle, she would have won the fight.”

“Give me a little credit Jaune, I still had a few tricks up my sleeve.” Said Pyrrha.

“And those tricks would be?” Lisa asked.

“They wouldn’t be very good tricks if I told everyone, would they?” Pyrrha answered.

“Surely you’ll give us something interesting. You came all the way here with something to say, right?” Lisa prompted.

Pyrrha hummed thoughtfully while Jaune sat and waited.

“I wanted to pass a message to your viewers ahead of time. Tomorrow, my partner and I will face off. He’s the kind of guy who just has a way of making things happen. Yes, we’ll more than likely be facing strong opponents before our match, but I’m confident we will fight. I wanted to let everyone know that they should be prepared for something a little different. Jaune is... He’s kind of an idiot.”

Jaune’s face dropped. He couldn’t believe she was doing this right here, right now.

“When he promised to take away the title of ‘invincible girl’ from me, I knew he would. Even if it cost him his health in the process. I wanted to ask all your viewers not to look down on him, or me, when our match gets a bit... messy.”

“How messy are we talking?” Lisa asked.

“It's like she said earlier. There's nothing in the rules against injuries that ignore aura. She’s probably going to have to break a few bones.” Jaune honestly answered for her. “If it’s a non-lethal attack and I’m low on aura, I won’t shield it. I’m not planning on fighting all too cleanly either if I’m honest. This match is kind of important to both of us.”

“Pyrrha, you’ve fought hundreds of opponents up until this point. What makes this match with your partner so special?” Lisa asked.

Jaune was about to answer. Pyrrha stopped him by grabbing his hand.

“It’s because this tournament will be the last one. Win or lose, this will be my last professional match as Pyrrha Nikos, the invincible girl.”

_So that’s what this was about. She has made her mind up. She knows that she couldn’t fight in a tournament after the transfer because it wouldn’t be fair to the others. It wouldn’t be fun for her anymore._

“I want to dedicate myself to becoming the best huntress I can be.” Pyrrha fidgeted for a moment. “Plus... I don’t think it’s fair to my boyfriend that I have to wear a disguise when we go out on a date.”

Pyrrha was looking right at him as she said that.

“It was never that bad...” Jaune replied.

“So you two...?” Lisa asked for confirmation.

“For a few weeks now yes. He asked me out at the school dance, right before the breach.”

“Well, there’s the story then. The Invincible Girl and the Vanguard of the Breach. Partners and lovers promising the world a match where they try to break each other’s bones and win no matter what. Any other bombshells you want to drop on us?” Lisa asked.

“If only you knew,” Jaune stated. Pyrrha caught on instantly to the hidden meaning and laughed.

“Do you have any other questions for us?” Pyrrha asked.

“Just one, for Jaune, if that’s okay.” Jaune nodded. “Pyrrha says she wants to dedicate herself to becoming a huntress. What is it that you want to do?”

Jaune was silent for a while.

_What do I want to do?_

_For so long it was about proving myself. It was about living up to the legacy of my family. But all of that feels so... small._

“I want...” Jaune said, trying to jumpstart an answer. Though it wasn’t the one he thought he would, he found one. “I just want to make some memories with my friends. I want to spend time with Pyrrha and experience something new every day. Sorry for the unexciting answer.”

Lisa waved her hands and the camera lights all turned off.

“Did you mean that last bit? If you didn’t, you’d make a hell of a politician.”

“I meant it,” Jaune answered.

Lisa smiled. “It was nice talking to you today Jaune, Pyrrha. Good luck tomorrow.”

Jaune and Pyrrha waved goodbye as she left.

“I guess it’s time for us to head off too? Maybe Ren and Nora are back at the dorm by now.” Said Jaune.

“I’ve got a better idea.” Said Pyrrha. “Come over here for a second.”

Pyrrha was standing on the boardwalk, looking over the beach. At her request, Jaune stepped over to join her.

The water was sparkling, inviting everyone to take a swim. Despite the fall weather, there were still people out enjoying the mid-afternoon sun. In particular, a group of six were setting up a volleyball net, several umbrellas, and even a barbeque. The orange-haired girl with the pink bikini ordered all the others around as they rushed to get it all set up.

_Wait..._

“Is that Nora?” Jaune loudly asked.

“It sure is!” Pyrrha exclaimed without a trace of surprise.

When Jaune looked more closely, he realized that he knew everyone down there.

“Well? They’re waiting for us, so stop staring, and let’s go!” Pyrrha urged.

“Is this what you’ve been planning?”

Pyrrha nodded and started to pull him by the wrist.

A short walk later, Jaune was face to face with the remainder of his team, and team RWBY too.

“What are you guys all doing here?” Jaune asked.

“Pyrrha mentioned how we’d spent all year in Vale but hadn’t been to the beach once. When she offered to fund a small get-together, we were all for it.” Ren explained.

It was weird seeing his friend in nothing but a pair of green board shorts. He usually made it his job to get into his usual long-flowing garbs as quickly as possible when he has to change.

“Plus it doubles as a winners party. Everyone here has teammates who made it into the finals. Or you know, are actually in the finals, like us.” Yang exclaimed.

As she gloated, she swung a hip out and flexed her bicep. It wasn’t her arms that caught his attention though.

Jaune felt a little bad for looking, but he doubted anyone could blame him. Yang was one of the bustier girls and bouncing around in her yellow bikini like that didn’t leave much to the imagination.

“You got easy opponents!” Ruby complained.

She was wearing a red jacket, zipped up to cover her chest. She wasn’t quite as confident as the other girls who were happy to put themselves on display and it showed. Despite himself, he couldn't deny that the girl had a cute boyish charm.

“How do you figure that? We had to fight second-years.” Blake countered.

Even at the beach, she wore her black ribbon to hide her ears. It was a shame that she felt the need.

“Well, we had to fight Pyrrha.” Weiss fired back. “... and Jaune.”

The frilly whites of her one-piece was a juxtaposition against her colorful personality. It was the kind of outfit you’d expect to see on a meek and innocent teen. Not the bossy and demanding Schnee wearing it right now.

“Enough of that! The guests of honor are finally here, so that means a few things. First and most importantly, Pyrrha can pay me back for buying all this stuff like she said she would.” Nora exclaimed.

Pyrrha sighed and whipped out her scroll, presumably to wire her what she owed.

“And with that sorted, here are the things you asked for!” Nora said, handing over a black bag to Pyrrha.

With both hands, she pushed both Pyrrha and Jaune into a small curtained off structure. Jaune felt like he should have been protesting a little more against the fact that he was being pushed, shoved, and led around. But he’d given up after the first half-hour and was resigned to just go along and see what happened.

So far, it had gone in his favor anyway.

Pyrrha tossed something at him from the bag and pulled out a few other items for herself. A quick look revealed a pair of blue board shorts.

“Jaune, could I get a hand?” she asked, gesturing to her combat gear.

“I’ve seen you slip out of that 100 times with your Semblance.”

She turned her head and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh. Oh!” Jaune suddenly realized, and he moved over to begin unlacing the top.

“You know for a guy so smart, you’re pretty dumb sometimes.” Pyrrha teased.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve said that before, so yeah, I know,” Jaune replied.

Eventually, the laces were all loosened off. Her corset slipped forwards into her waiting hands.

Pyrrha sat down on the bench and Jaune immediately followed her to get her greaves off.

“I have this actually, thanks though.” Said Pyrrha dryly.

“I thought... No, fine, my bad.”

“I’m just teasing you Jaune.” Pyrrha laughed as she took her hands away.

Jaune slowly got Pyrrha out of all her combat gear, leaving her clad in just her bra and her miniskirt.

“If I recall correctly, you said you like this look the best right?” Pyrrha asked with a smirk.

Jaune nodded and soaked in the view. It wasn’t often they got a chance for this kind of thing. He quickly activated his aura sight and looked around. Everybody seemed content to work on setting up everything else and no one was nearby.

“My hands are a bit sore after undoing all those laces Pyrr. Would you mind?” said Jaune with all the subtlety of a brick to the face.

Pyrrha unbuttoned his jacket, one at a time without breaking eye contact. Frankly, it was impressive that she had the coordination to pull that off. When she had finished with that, she set upon his shirt next.

Pyrrha ran her hands underneath his shirt and lifted them over his shoulders. Her eyes were glued to his chest as she did.

“See something you like?” Jaune asked, getting some payback for earlier.

“I do.” She honestly replied.

Jaune pulled his partner by the hips into a kiss with a little more fire than their usual quick pecks. After the night they shared, their patience had weakened. It had been months of dancing around each other before the first time. Now, two days were much too long.

Pyrrha deepened the kiss with her tongue, she tasted of the mixed drinks she had indulged in earlier. Meanwhile, Jaune took the time to appreciate the curves of her body with his hands.

After a few seconds, he tried his luck and unclasped her bra behind her back.

“I didn’t ask for help with that one.” Said Pyrrha.

“You needed to get into the bikini top over there or something, right? Forward-thinking is a good trait.” Jaune reasoned.

Pyrrha pushed herself away from him and walked over to the aforementioned clothing. Slowly, she began putting them on. Jaune cursed his stupidity for having mentioned it. Or at least he did until Pyrrha bent over and slipped off her underwear.

With the skirt still on, Jaune couldn’t see anything more than the fabric as it fell down her legs. Not that he felt he needed to. There was much to say for leaving something to the imagination.

Jaune got into the board shorts as Pyrrha continued getting properly changed. As fun as that had been, it had been dreadfully short, leaving him somewhat ill-prepared to go join the others.

“Don’t worry,” Pyrrha said as she packed her gear into the bag that their swimwear came from. “I know that was short. But there’s more where that came from later. We were probably lucky we got that much with everyone just a dozen meters away.” She continued.

“You’re right.” Jaune sighed. “Come on then, let’s go see what’s going on.”

Jaune and Pyrrha left the makeshift changing room and rejoined the group.

“Oh thank Oum you guys are finally here. We were starting to worry we’d have to send someone in with a crowbar to pry you two apart.” Yang joked.

“Yeah yeah, you were getting jealous, we get it.” Jaune fired back.

He looked over everything that the others had set up. They’d done a great job of getting everything together.

“Now how about we get this thing started. Volleyball?” Jaune asked the group.

“Yes! How about boys against girls?” Nora asked.

Jaune looked at Ren who in turn looked back at him. Ren shrugged.

“Sure, why not. Who’s up first?”

Yang’s hand shot straight up, as did Nora’s. Weiss and Blake had already started walking over to the shade of one of the umbrellas. The latter had a book in her hand that he swore she didn't have before.

Jaune smirked.

“You’re both going down, you know that right?” Jaune cockily asked.

“Us? Please. We’re going to destroy you.” Nora stated. She raised a hand and Yang instantly high-fived it.

For a pair of girls who weren’t on the same team, they were scarily in sync.

They hadn’t been kidding either.

From the get-go, Yang and Nora were going all out. 10-foot leaps and near-supersonic spikes were just the beginning. Ren and Jaune were working hard just making sure they caught every serve.

Their aura step allowed them to maintain a much more stable footing on the loose sand. It was this small boon that kept them in the game.

Right up until Nora took Ren’s head off his shoulders with a direct hit to his face with the ball. The sound he made as he fell wasn’t one you’d expect from someone with aura getting hit by a leather ball.

“Yes! I told you that would work. You don’t spend this many years with a monk and not pick up a few tricks.” Nora gloated.

“You’ve got to teach me how to do that.” Yang eagerly requested.

“Just a simple bit of aura manipulation.”

“Wait, did you seriously channel your aura into the ball for a game of volleyball?” Jaune asked.

Looking at the red mark on Ren’s face that was slowly beginning to develop, the answer was clear.

“I demand a substitute, one of my players is injured!” Jaune declared.

“You think Pyrrha is going to-”

“I choose Weiss!” Jaune shouted loud enough that she would hear from her position at the sidelines.

“I didn’t sign up for that!” Weiss shouted back.

“Go on Weiss, you can do it!” Ruby encouraged.

Somehow she thought Weiss was refusing for a reason other than disinterest.

Weiss knew a losing battle when she saw it. She got up and stomped her way over without further protest.

“One win, then you leave me out of this.” She stated.

Jaune nodded. He already knew what she was about to do and he almost felt bad.

Since Nora and Yang got the last point, they had the serve. Jaune activated his aura shield, learning from Ren’s mistake. He even activated his muscle augmentation for good measure. The additional bulk that it added as his muscles were filled with his aura earned him a whistle from Pyrrha.

Nora served it up and Yang didn’t just slap it down. She punched it with the kind of force she’d use against the Grimm. It was like the ball offended her family’s honor or something.

Jaune caught the serve on both arms and he strained to reverse the momentum. Barely managing to pull it off, it gently floated through the air where Weiss launched it high up into the air. She summoned several glyphs in the middle of the air. Each pointed from the ball's future position to the center of their opponent’s field.

Jaune leaped into the air and slapped the ball into the first glyph. This then accelerated it even faster into the next, and the one after that.

It was fortunate that Weiss took the shenanigans one step further. She launched her opponents off the field with an additional pair of glyphs. When the volleyball struck the ground, it created an explosion of sand. All that was left was a crater that covered the entire field and a deflated ball.

“Hell yeah!” Jaune shouted. “Don’t mess with Weiss!”

Jaune offered her a high-five just like Nora had Yang earlier.

She stared at the offending limb like he was a leper. To Jaune’s surprise, while she did complain under her breath, she didn’t leave him hanging.

Jaune picked up Ren who was enjoying the excuse the injury gave him to just lie down and rest under the sun. He carried him over to where the girls were sitting out of the sun and dropped him on one of the towels.

“Weiss earned herself and Blake an excuse since she helped me kick some butt earlier. You two however need to get out here already.” He said, gesturing to Yang and Nora who had already moved on from the ruined volleyball field into the waves.

“Alright, alri-” Pyrrha started to say.

Jaune wrapped an arm around her waist and slung her over his shoulder. He looked at Ruby who was sitting beside her and gave her a Cheshire smile.

“Jaune, you wouldn’t.” Jaune took a step closer. “Come on, we’re friends aren’t we?”

Jaune scooped her up and she screamed. Of course, she could have avoided it if she wanted, so he knew she was just being dramatic.

He carried both Pyrrha and Ruby into the shallows. With all the aura enhanced strength he could muster, he threw them into the water.

Jaune followed them in not a second later, running and jumping into the water near them.

“Did you have to throw us?” Ruby half complained.

“I suppose I could’ve kept carrying you both around.” Jaune joked.

Ruby pouted and splashed water at him in protest. Pyrrha immediately followed suit

Outnumbered two to one, Jaune relied on his natural advantages to fight back.

Though he normally used his sword as a focus for his aura, it wasn’t like he needed it for every technique. Jaune let loose a weak but fast-moving wave of aura just beneath the water’s surface. The top layer of water flicked up, spraying the girls with more force than the two of them could put out together.

“Ruby, teach my boyfriend a lesson for me would you?” Pyrrha requested once she saw Jaune's smug expression after his short victory.

“Gladly.”

Ruby activated her Semblance and began swimming circles around Jaune at high speeds. It didn’t take long for a whirlpool to form, and the more she circled him, the stronger it got.

It took several minutes for Jaune to break out of the cycle. It took several more to shake off the dizziness that resulted.

Pyrrha gave him one good splash for good measure just as he recovered.

“Okay, you win, I give!” Jaune surrendered.

Ruby put both hands on her hips with a self-satisfied smile. She then laughed and swam away to go meet up with her sister.

Pyrrha paddled over to Jaune who was rubbing the water out of his eyes and laced her arms over his shoulders. Jaune wrapped his arms around her waist in return.

“Surprised?” Pyrrha asked.

“About today? I can’t say anything you’ve done would’ve been amongst my top five guesses, so yeah. Just this morning you were stressed out after a sleepless night. Now you’re throwing parties and quitting your job. Not to mention you’re being a lot more public with your affection today.”

“Well, it’s like I said. I don’t have to worry about people seeing anymore. It’s not like I’m going to lose my job anymore, is it?”

“Is that right?” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha tensed for a moment as she felt Jaune’s hands slide down and grab either side of her behind.

“Jaune...” She warned.

“No one can see, this water isn’t that clear.” He said, accentuating his point with a squeeze.

“It would seem I’ve created a monster.”

“Takes one to know one, Pyrr.” Jaune laughed.

**/-/**

Jaune and Pyrrha spent the following hours wrapped together, mingling with their friends. They made sure to congratulate Yang and Blake for making it into the top eight.

Eventually, Ren was pulled from his ball-induced nap to cook the food they had brought. While it wasn’t his signature pancakes, his food was still praiseworthy. As the sun dropped below the horizon, so too did the ambient temperature. The steaming hot steaks and sausages were the perfect counter.

With curfew approaching and the food cleaned off, everyone agreed to start packing up. Jaune smoothed over the crater with sand. Everyone else gathered and put away the newly bought equipment. But when the time came to leave, Pyrrha held him back.

“There’s one more thing Jaune.”

“Do we have time? It would be bad if we got caught out and couldn’t find a place to stay.” Jaune asked.

“That won’t be an issue,” Pyrrha reassured.

Jaune nodded and pulled out his jacket and gave it to Pyrrha. Walking around in just her bikini would be cold, colder than him in his shorts at least.

“Thanks.” She said, pulling the jacket on and buttoning it up.

Pyrrha led the way as they walked hand in hand through the city. Wherever it was, she must have planned this as well as she knew where she was going.

“So where are we going?” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha didn’t respond, repeating her behavior from earlier in the morning.

“So another surprise then?” he asked again.

Pyrrha nodded.

Jaune held back on any further questions. Fortunately, their destination wasn’t too far away.

“A motel?” Jaune asked.

“I told you we wouldn’t have to worry about getting caught out after curfew,” Pyrrha confirmed, pulling him inside.

Pyrrha walked up to the counter, trading several hundred Lien in exchange for a key.

Jaune had several questions on his mind that he wanted to ask. Why a motel? More importantly, why at night by themselves? He sensed however that this was not the time to be voicing those questions.

Pyrrha seemed to walk with an air of excited nervousness. Like she couldn’t decide what she was supposed to be feeling. It was getting to the point where that nervousness was transmitting to Jaune. He once again weighed the option of trying to force information out of her.

Pyrrha led him up a flight of stairs and down a hallway to a door which she unlocked.

Jaune stepped inside and was remarkably underwhelmed. A single queen-sized bed, TV on the wall, and a fridge in the corner. It was clean, and everything looked nice enough. There was just no great surprise waiting within like he had assumed there might be.

“I know you’ve been wondering. You don’t stop thinking when something takes your interest.” Said Pyrrha.

Jaune turned around to face her. Unlike him, she wasn’t looking around the room and investigating the decor. She was slowly unbuttoning her borrowed jacket.

“Before you ask, I am still worried about the future. There’s a lot of good, but there’s a lot of risks too. But so much of that was out of my control once I’d made my decision. I wanted to take back some of that control.”

“Pyrr?” Jaune asked with concern.

“If we move to Atlas, we’d seldom get to see a beach again. We’d rarely get to see our friends. I wanted to make some memories that I could hold onto.” She continued, pulling the jacket off entirely.

She reached up behind her neck to pull the strings to her top, but Jaune crossed the room and stopped her.

“Pyrrha, stop.”

“I even thought that if I made enough good memories, that they would hold me together through the transfer.” Pyrrha’s voice rose to snuff out Jaune’s interference. “I don’t want to forget my friends. I don’t want to forget my team and what we’ve been through together.”

“Pyrrha, you don’t know-”

“You’re right! I don’t know! I don’t know whether I’m going to forget everything that makes me, me. So I wanted to do anything I could to fight that. It’s like you said, sometimes thinking doesn’t get you anywhere. Sometimes you just need to let loose.”

Pyrrha pushed his hands away from her and she pulled the strings loose, baring herself to him.

“I want you, Jaune. I want you, and I want this. If not for my own sake, then for yours. Even if I lose myself, I want to give you a part of me that you wouldn’t ever forget. Something that, when I’m gone, you can say truly belongs to you and no one else.” She grabbed Jaune’s hand and placed it upon her breast. He could feel her heart beating like a drum just beneath the surface. “I know you’d follow me even if I lost myself. You’re loyal, and you’re an idiot, and you deserve so much better than to be left alone like that.”

“You don’t have to do this for me.” Said Jaune.

“Then let me do this for me.”

Pyrrha kissed him hungrily and desperately. Jaune, though unsure of whether this was the right thing to do or not, tried his best to return her affection. The lines were so blurred. Was he taking advantage of his partner in her vulnerable state? Or was it right to give her what she wanted? He didn’t know, and he couldn’t know. All he knew was that whatever he chose, he wanted to make sure she enjoyed it as much as possible. He could deal with the consequences afterward.

Jaune picked his partner up and she steadied herself against him with her thighs. He carried her to the bed and laid her down upon it. His lips strayed from hers, gently caressing the skin of her neck and collarbone. Her body still held the lingering taste of the ocean.

Pyrrha’s hands trailed across his chest, fingers tracing the lines of his muscles. Jaune meanwhile was doing his best to pull his partner as close as physically possible to him. His hands gripped at her thighs which molded under his touch. He couldn’t help but admire how her body, which was so powerful, was so soft.

“Pyrrha, I love you,” Jaune whispered.

The fingers of her left hand ran up behind his head. She grabbed a handful of his gold hair and pulled him into yet another kiss. She forced him onto his back and straddled his lower body, pushing his hardness into her core.

Propping himself up on his elbows, Jaune brought them both into a more upright position. He wanted her to have the freedom to start moving her lower body against his own as they kissed.

It didn’t take long for her moans to start vibrating into his mouth. She pressed her forehead into his own, keeping their lips apart long enough for her to let out a small laugh.

“Not this time.” She said as she slowed the movement of her hips. “You always make me feel so good. I want to make you feel good for a change.”

“You do. It feels so unbelievably good, you have no idea.” Jaune admitted.

“I have some idea.”

Pyrrha hopped off to his side, and practically tore the shorts off his body. Her own followed as Jaune pulled the strings keeping them tied up.

Pyrrha’s hands were cold against the burning heat of his member and he let out a surprised gasp. The sound only seemed to stir Pyrrha onward.

She stroked his length with a consistent pace and a firm grip that had him fighting the urge to move his hips with her. He reached over to return the favor, but with her free hand, she grabbed his wrist and placed his hand upon her chest.

“If you do that, I won’t-mmmph!” Pyrrha said before Jaune interrupted her by sealing her lips with his own.

“-be able to concentrate.” She finished after pulling away several seconds later.

“Maybe I don’t want you to concentrate. You look so beautiful when you...” Jaune didn’t know exactly the correct term to use. He had neither the experience nor the confidence for dirty talking. He didn’t want to vulgarise something as special as this by mistake.

“When I what Jaune?” Pyrrha teased, knowing exactly what he was struggling with.

Jaune saw that challenging look in her eyes, daring him to meet her expectations. He never let up in training, why would he now.

Jaune leaned next to her ear and whispered. “When you cum for me. I want to hear you moan my name.”

Jaune could practically hear the excitement through her heartbeat. When he moved his hand back between her thighs to make her do exactly that, he could feel it too. The growing wetness that dripped from her core soaked the bedsheets along with their sweat.

“Well go on then. Make me.” She replied, slightly spreading her legs to accommodate his hand.

Jaune rubbed his fingers up and down her lower lips. His fingers moistened to the point where they were gliding across her body with ease. Pyrrha squirmed every time he rubbed her clit. Her breath caught when he entered her and massaged her inner walls.

Jaune knew from his little experience Pyrrha liked it when Jaune used his hands. But when he used his teeth and tongue to stimulate her body she loved it even more. So Jaune steadily repositioned himself, placing his head between her thighs.

Pyrrha had no objections to his decision. She ran fingers through his hair to guide him closer when he paused to admire the view.

Cautiously at first, he ran his tongue from bottom to top in one smooth motion. She tasted like heaven, and apparently, she was feeling it too. As his tongue reached her sweet spot she bucked her hips, almost breaking his nose from the sheer force.

Either embarrassed from her sudden reaction or giddy from the pleasure, Pyrrha laughed. He continued, but this time he held her down by wrapping his arms around her legs and pushing her into the bed.

Eagerly, Jaune lapped at the nectar that flowed from her body. He drowned himself in both it and the sound of his partner’s appreciation.

Pyrrha seemed unable to decide what to do with her hands. She frequently switched between grabbing at the sheets, the pillows, and Jaune's hair.

“Jaune... I’m... I want you. I can’t take it anymore it feels so good.” She moaned, swearing under her breath when Jaune kept going. “I need you to...”

“To what Pyrrha?” Jaune asked, payback for earlier.

Every time she tried to talk, Jaune made sure to tease her weak spots as best he could. He turned her into a stuttering mess. Finally, she managed to utter a single word.

“Please.” She begged.

Jaune had gotten his fill of revenge, and who was he to decline such a polite request. There was of course one problem that he only came to realize at this exact moment.

“What about protection?” he asked, suddenly realizing he didn’t have any on him.

Pyrrha’s chest heaved as she took in heavy breaths to try and catch her up on the oxygen her thrashing had cost her. When her breathing slowed, she reached over to the drawers and looked within.

“I don’t think hotels normally come with-” Pyrrha pulled a box out of the draw and immediately opened it.

“I might have made a small request with the booking,” Pyrrha admitted, refusing to meet his gaze.

She revealed a strip of wrappers from the box. She opened the first with her teeth and pulled out a red-colored condom.

Jaune put his hand out, to take it off her, but she shook her head.

“Can I do it? I’m... curious. We got to see it once on a banana, but well...” she trailed off.

“Not the same as the real thing?” Jaune laughed.

He hopped up from his position between her legs as she sat up on the edge of the bed. She fiddled with the small item with her hands as he sat beside her.

Jaune sat beside her, letting her work out how she wanted to do it. He couldn’t help himself from grabbing a handful of her ass in the meantime though.

His hand beneath her tilted her slightly toward him, giving her the push she needed to get started. She placed the condom on the tip of his cock, causing it to twitch slightly in response. She rolled it down until it reached the base.

“Huh. That was easier than I thought.” She stated in mild surprise.

Jaune couldn’t help himself.

“Not as hard as it looked?”

“Jaune, no.” Pyrrha deadpanned.

Jaune laughed and brought his lips to his partner’s. For a moment he worried that she would be put off by the thought of tasting herself, but she didn’t seem bothered.

Pyrrha leaned back and Jaune followed. As physically stimulating as it was to touch and taste his partner, it was always an experience to kiss her. The passion that she showed in moments like these was unique. She seemed to fight for control over his tongue within her mouth. It did things to Jaune’s mind that he couldn’t describe.

Finally, though, she pushed Jaune back and straddled his hips once more.

“Jaune,” she said, drawing his attention away from her body which was held inches above his own. “I love you so much.”

“I l-” she hushed him with a finger to his lips.

“Sometimes I can’t believe that I met someone like you. You’re so special to me, I can’t begin to express it in words. So now I’m going to show you just how special, I think you are.”

“Pyrr-Ah!” Jaune gasped as she lowered herself onto him mid-sentence.

She was hot and incredibly tight too. Not hot in the, ‘I think she is attractive when she does this’ way either. But the physically almost-burning kind of way. He had felt all this with his fingers, but he was quite a bit bigger than the width of a finger, more sensitive too. From what he could tell she was clenching down on him with far more force too.

“Oh, shit!” Pyrrha swore.

“Does it hurt?” Jaune asked as Pyrrha screwed up her face and breathed heavily through her mouth.

“Yes. But it hurts in a good way. You feel a lot bigger than I thought you would. It feels really good though.” She explained, slowly beginning to move her hips.

She still hadn’t taken all of him inside her. With every bounce, she took a little bit more until finally, she was able to rest her hips atop his.

“Let me just... adjust for a second.” She asked and Jaune complied.

He wanted her to feel as good as possible, as fast as possible. It was a guess at best, but he thought that if she was even wetter down there, she would have an easier time moving.

So as Pyrrha calmed her breathing Jaune raised one hand to cup her breast. With the other, he placed his thumb on her clit and began to press gently.

“Does that feel good?” Jaune asked.

“It does.” She swore under her breath once more. “It really, really does.”

Soon, Pyrrha began to move her hips in time with the movement of his thumb. And when she got started, Jaune stopped.

Pyrrha’s hands had felt good enough on their own, but this was something far beyond that. Hot and wet, she pressed down on him from every direction. Pyrrha dragged a genuine groan, deep from Jaune’s throat.

Seemingly over the initial discomfort, Pyrrha absorbed herself in her own pleasure. Much to Jaune’s, that meant moving faster and squeezing even tighter.

It was all Jaune could do to hold on and try not to lose himself to the blinding feelgood sensation.

He was starting to understand at least some of what Pyrrha had been going through. His hips bucked up to meet Pyrrha, speeding the pace of their love-making.

Jaune wanted to tell Pyrrha just exactly how good she was making him feel. To tell her just how sexy and beautiful she looked at this exact moment. But the best he could manage was to groan and say her name.

Not that he was the only one.

Jaune was inches away from something. Though he hadn’t experienced it before, the rising pleasure made it pretty clear what it was.

“Pyrrha, I think I’m-”

“Mmm-me too!” Pyrrha moaned.

Pyrrha squeezed down on him like a vice. She twitched and spasmed around him with enough force to drive him over the edge. Everything went blank.

When Jaune returned to his senses the first thing he noticed was just how out of breath he was. He fought Grimm and terrorists to the death and trained every single day, but he was completely spent. His body radiated heat, especially on his left side.

Turning his head, Pyrrha was lying beside him. She swallowed air with deep breaths as she tried to slow her heart.

“That was... Wow!” words failed Jaune.

“Yeah. I’ve never... not like that anyway.” Pyrrha agreed, rolling further into his side.

Jaune found his hand running up his partner’s side. Even as exhausted as he was, he couldn’t help but be affected by his partner’s naked form.

“You’re so beautiful.” Said Jaune.

Pyrrha giggled and turned her head up to kiss him.

“So what now?” she asked.

Jaune looked around the room for a clock. It was late and they had to be up early.

“Get ready for bed I guess? We need to sleep sometime tonight or we’ll suffer for it tomorrow.” Jaune suggested.

“You’re right. We should have a shower first though. It wouldn’t do to go to bed covered in sweat and everything else like this.” Said Pyrrha.

“Right, okay. Ladies first then.”

“Jaune...” she sighed. “I said ‘we’ should take a shower.”

Jaune didn’t need to be told a third time.


	43. The Tournament IV

Jaune awoke to the sound of conversation outside the window of their room.

A small child was urging his mother to hurry so that they could get to their seats before the crowd got too big.

The mother was right behind him trying to make sure everything was organized. Honestly, she sounded like she needed a coffee, not the 6 am wake-up call she was dealing with.

“Do you think we’ll get to meet the invincible girl?” The child asked. “I’ve always wanted to meet her! She is so cool and her cereal is the best!”

Jaune sat up and looked down at his partner as she slept. Or pretended to sleep at least. This room wasn’t hot enough to justify her current level of blush. After last night he doubted he was the cause of her embarrassment.

Jaune poked her in the cheek, revealing the fact she'd been caught.

“If only she knew huh?” Jaune asked in a hushed voice.

Pyrrha cracked one eye open at Jaune, wincing at her first exposure to the early morning light.

“The younger fans were always my favorite. Not yet old enough to have anything taint their opinions. If they said you were cool, they meant it. It’s one of the things I think I’ll miss the most.” Said Pyrrha.

“You don’t have to miss it. You’re quitting tournaments, not being a badass role model.” Jaune countered.

“I don’t think a six-year-old is going to be looking up to me after what I do to you, mister. Nor when they see me covered in Grimm essence.”

“I don’t see why not. Huntsmen are cool. Huntresses too, of course, you know what I meant. It never mattered to me growing up that they had to get a bit dirty to do their job.”

“You’re a boy, getting dirty is the goal for you at that age.”

“I bet Ruby was exactly the same at that age. Hell, she’s the same right now.”

They both laughed.

“Alright, enough of that. We should get ourselves ready too.” Pyrrha stated.

She pulled the covers off herself and moved to swing her legs off the edge of the bed, but paused.

“Is that from me, or is true what they say about guys in the morning?” She asked, now staring at him as much as he was staring at her.

“Yes.” Was Jaune’s technically appropriate answer.

Jaune could see the cogs ticking in Pyrrha’s mind. The temptation was there for both of them to stay exactly where they were. Even if it was just for another ten or so minutes. Sadly, they both know they didn’t have time like that to play with.

Unlike the 3 previous days, they weren’t just going to be fighting 1 match and then getting the day to themselves. They would be fighting three consecutive matches, with only a few hours in between. Their body and aura needed fuel from start to finish to keep up the pace in the final rounds. Especially if a difficult match is fought early on.

Jaune learned very early on how important nutrition is for huntsmen. His diet had shifted radically from the days where he was auraless to his first few days in initiation. Generating aura was a metabolism super-booster. It chewed through calories to do what it did. It was what made it so easy for huntsmen to get such ripped physiques.

So, despite their hesitance, they both did get out of bed. The rate at which they dressed was, admittedly, slower than necessary. Each taking the opportunity to savor the lingering glances of their partner. But eventually, they finished that too.

Finally, they returned to Beacon.

Jaune collected his armor and got changed into his combat attire.

When he made it to the cafeteria, Pyrrha had organized his food for him. Not to say she cooked it of course. No, Ren was entirely responsible for that.

“Here, plenty of protein and slow-release carbohydrates. I even made you both one of my specialty health drinks.” Ren happily explained.

It seemed like since he dropped out of the tournament, his enthusiasm for it had only gone up. Pyrrha slid the glass away from herself, killing that newfound passion somewhat.

“Will this stuff actually help? Or is it just, you know, one of those ‘health alternative’ things?” Jaune asked.

“It’s packed with more vitamin A than polar bear liver! Well, not quite. I had to make some allowances.”

“You mean on account of the whole ‘too much of a good thing is occasionally enough to kill you’ deal?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. Now drink up! You know it won’t kill you. Plus, you want to win, right?” Ren urged.

“I do want to win...” Jaune mumbled.

He looked at the delicious breakfast, then back at the congealed glass of slime. With a sigh, he steeled himself.

To say he drank it all in one gulp wouldn’t be exactly accurate. More like it slid into his mouth in one piece before Jaune chewed it up and swallowed it. He immediately chased it down with the fattiest and saltiest items he could get off his plate.

“Woah! I’ve never seen anyone other than Ren drink that without throwing up!” Nora cooed.

The mental image wasn’t doing him any favors.

“Pyrrha, just so you know... what that drink is doing to my stomach right now, I’m going to do to you today,” Jaune promised.

“I’ll look forward to it then. I’m sticking to solid foods though.” She replied.

_I hope that was worth it._

**/-/**

“Welcome everyone! To the 4th and final day of the fortieth Vytal Festival Tournament!” Professor Port loudly exclaimed, riling the crowd up into a frenzy right from the get-go. “Are you ready to see our final eight contestants fight tooth and nail to claim victory?! Are you ready for these brave students to put their bodies on the line for their school?! Are! You! Ready!”

Their screams were deafening.

Jaune bounced from foot to foot, trying to copy his partner and keep his body loose.

Not that he particularly regretted it, but he hadn’t exactly spent a great deal of time preparing last night. He was making up for it right now.

_My best-case scenario is to get someone I know already. Yang or Blake are probably my best bets, but I should be fine with others too. As long as I don’t get that girl from Atlas. She’s probably going to be a finalist. If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll get her partner, she hasn’t fought this entire tournament._

“Well Peter, I think they’re ready. So why keep them waiting? Let’s get right to the action! The first match is...” Doctor Oobleck announced, pausing the match display began to spin.

The first profile appeared.

“Jaune Arc! And his opponent...”

_First match, no biggie. That gives me more time to rest for the second round while the others fight._

The second profile appeared beside his.

“You’ve got to be joking...” Jaune loudly complained, earning a snort of laughter from Yang further down the line.

“Pyrrha Nikos!”

_The first freaking match?! What are the odds?!_

“1 in 28,” Pyrrha stated, leaning over to him.

“Get out of my head! And stay out. I don’t need you reading my mind right now.” Jaune ordered in hushed tones.

“All other contestants, head to your waiting rooms. Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc, please step to the center of the stage.” Doctor Oobleck advised.

Jaune immediately raced over to the edge of the arena.

As fast as he could, Jaune removed all of his armor. With Pyrrha’s Semblance, anything made of metal was a risk. Only his shield and sword were worth the potential cost. While he was at it, he removed his hoodie and shirt. Too many times had Pyrrha thrown him around using his clothing as a handle. The downside of this strategy was that he was now topless in front of millions. Thanks to Pyrrha, he had some confidence in his appearance, but it was still nerve-wracking.

“Mr. Arc! Centre of the arena, please. If you take any longer, you risk disqualification.” Doctor Oobleck ordered.

“I’m coming!” Jaune shouted, throwing the pile off the edge and racing to stand opposite Pyrrha.

“Good of you to finally join me Jaune. I was beginning to worry.” Pyrrha teased.

“I wouldn’t get too confident just yet. It was a surprise for sure, but I’m in my best possible condition right now.” Jaune fired back.

The outer ring of the arena dropped away. There was to be no unique terrain for Jaune to utilize in this fight. He would be fighting on flat, solid terrain, with nothing but his skills to aid him. Several microphones, lights, and cameras were raised and took position over them.

“I can’t wait to see what tricks you’ve come up with, Jaune.” Said Pyrrha. Her voice echoed as the microphones picked up every word and relayed it to the audience.

Jaune did have a few plans in mind. Strategies concocted long ago when he first started to truly think about this match. All of them started long before the match officially began.

_Time for a little showboating._

“No tricks. I’m going to crush you head-on.” The crowd oohed. “My best against your best. All I need you to do is stay right there and fight like you always do.”

“And why would I do that? You’ve told me before my worst habit is letting my opponent dictate the terms of the battle. Perhaps I should just dodge and counter-attack. We both know who is faster out of the two of us.” Pyrrha replied.

“That’s exactly why you won’t. You’ve been waiting for this for months. No. You’ve been waiting for this for years. You’ll do this because I’ve got the power to give you the fight you’ve always wanted.” Jaune stated with the confidence of knowing everything he said was a simple fact.

Jaune pulled back his shoulders and lifted his head before roaring to the crowd.

“Did you hear that?! We’ve all waited long enough!” Jaune pulled out his sword from its sheathe and holding it above his head with one arm. His blade was an antenna that he pushed his aura through. It spilled over the entire stadium, washing them all in his will. There wasn’t a single person present who couldn’t feel his aura radiating over them in waves.

“So start this match already!” Jaune shouted, hyping himself up while simultaneously backing himself into a corner.

After that performance, if he couldn’t pull it off, he would be a laughing stock. The desperation he felt was the key he knew he needed.

His Semblance, the pool of aura that was hidden deep within his body, once again connected with his. The aura within his blade instantly doubled in size. It glowed brightly with intensity and thrummed with power. He could feel his Semblance like a restriction had been lifted. His mind was filled with the knowledge of several ways he could use it as the system kicked in.

Jaune grabbed his blade with both hands. Partly to steady himself and try to control the energy that begged to be released. But also to ready himself for the single most important strike of this entire tournament.

He could hear the professors speeding through their dialogue to accommodate his request. He used that time to sharpen his aura and his mind.

With his sword, he envisioned the perfect crescent moon arc. His aura would slice and grind and burn through any defense Pyrrha presented him.

And then the horn sounded.

Within a tenth of a second, Jaune activated every ability at his disposal.

His muscles swelled and compacted as he pushed himself to a sprint. The concrete ground beneath him was crushed as his maximum speed aura step proved too much to handle. His mind worked overtime processing every piece of information he could get.

She already had her Semblance active over her armor and weapons. She must have known her ordinary strength wouldn’t compare to his. Where she was fast, he was strong. She held her sword in a reverse grip in front of her shield.

_I can already tell she predicted this move.She only uses her reverse grip when she is entirely focused on defending against a powerful blow._

Crocea Mors collided with Miló in a thunderous overhead blow. The resulting vibrations penetrated Jaune’s bone marrow, but he pushed on. The second part was what mattered after all.

Like an afterimage or a clone of Jaune’s slash, his aura appeared behind Pyrrha’s guard, cutting into her shield. It was as perfect a copy of Russel’s Rend skill as he had managed since he had started trying to emulate it.

Jaune had poured all the aura he could hold at any given moment into that strike. Triple what Pyrrha had in total devoted entirely to a single strike. On instinct, he condensed his aura, reducing it’s volume threefold and honing its cutting edge.

Pyrrha’s heels carved deep into the concrete as she tried to hold her stance against the blow. Meanwhile, she did her best to divert the strike with her shield. To make it go wide and waste its energy flying off to the side.

_Let’s see her deflect this._

Jaune spun on his heel, pushing the instantaneous movement of his aura step to its limit. The ground beneath him didn’t just give way, but actually, burst. Cracks splintered out from where his feet once were as he disappeared with a cloud of concrete dust.

He appeared behind her, using aura concealment and his aura strike to hide his presence. An amateur fighter wouldn’t have been able to follow him due to his speed alone, let alone with his presence concealed.

Pyrrha wasn’t an amateur.

Her efforts were devoted to redirecting his blow to the side with her shield. Her attention however was pre-emptively placed where Jaune had appeared. Her body had spun, leaving her sword ready to defend whatever he had next.

Jaune initiated a horizontal slice with the intent to use Rend once more. He would bypass her defenses and land a hit while she was rooted in place with only a single arm to defend herself.

The second he did, Pyrrha reacted.

Veins popped out of the side of her head, and he could’ve sworn her whole body turned a shade of red as if she was blushing. Through gritted teeth, she uttered two words that shocked Jaune to his core.

“Double strike!”

_She’s using skills?_

Pyrrha met his strike before it had even had the chance to build momentum, stopping his blade in its tracks. His aura slash generated beyond that. Pyrrha’s arm blurred as her speed exceeded anything he’d ever seen her capable of. She met his aura with a second strike of her own.

Her feet no longer moved from where she had them planted, not even an inch. Slowly but surely, with her shield, she pushed the first strike’s aura to her rear. With her blade, she forced his aura up and over her head. The two beams of energy flew off into the arena's barrier, leaving a scar even after several dozen meters.

She had successfully thwarted both of his best attacks. A full 60 points of aura erased, just like that, and for what?

Jaune checked the scoreboard. Her aura had dropped, a natural response to the several long seconds she had wrestled with his attack. But compared to the massive amount he had expended, she only reached about 70%.

Jaune didn’t have time to be annoyed though. She had already recovered from her skill use, and with the ferocity of a wild animal, Pyrrha was on top of him. He could see clearly that the change to her body was no illusion. The sweat on her body created a thin haze of steam. Jaune could feel her body radiating heat that far exceeded the norm.

Jaune put as much distance between them as he could, tearing up the concrete as he went. Unfortunately, Pyrrha was right behind him.

Jaune's aura step was matched by her Semblance as she controlled herself like a puppet. Right now, she was even faster than he was.

Jaune managed to block her strike and push off with it, but the impact took a bite out of his aura. His backup reserves replaced it, but one more hit like that would leave him with nothing left in that tank.

Jaune’s mind raced to come up with a solution. He barely stumbled upon one as the thought ‘I can’t keep defending these attacks’ flashed through his mind.

Jaune let loose a miniature aura slash right up in Pyrrha’s face. It was only about 2 points of aura, but for Pyrrha, it was a big enough threat.

As she double-blocked the first, Jaune followed up with another, and then several more. Each at different targets, forcing her to divide her guard. He focused on quantity over quality, blitzing Pyrrha with strikes that she couldn't block. A few managed to land on her armor as she took them as best she could, and her aura dropped to sixty percent as a result.

Of course, Pyrrha wasn’t a strength-based fighter like he was, she didn’t need to keep blocking these strikes like this.

Her movements were jerky and lacking her usual refinement. Even then, she weaved between Jaune’s strikes dodging them entirely.

It was good for Jaune, that by focusing on defense she had to slow her approach. Jaune could stay out of range and keep up the offense. But with his strikes not dealing any damage, he was burning more of his aura than Pyrrha was earlier.

Jaune steadily replaced these attacks with feints. Pyrrha's knowledge of the damage he could cause with even a single hit meant she couldn't afford not to dodge. Without aura sight, she couldn't know which attacks were real or not.

Even still, Jaune’s aura slowly dwindled. Every four or five strikes, another few points of aura crashed into the arena. Too much more of this and he wouldn’t be able to maintain his aura augmentation.

Jaune was preparing for one last gambit, when all of a sudden, he felt the flow of battle shift.

Pyrrha took one of his strikes intentionally. It hadn’t been infused with aura, but the weight of his sword still tore a chunk from her aura.

For a second, Jaune cheered. He had done what many others couldn’t and reduced her aura to the point where it registered as yellow on the meter. But then he felt the crippling pain that spiked up from his left arm.

Pyrrha had taken that blow in exchange for completely mangling his arm. Though he hadn’t managed to see it in the chaos of the moment, he could see the results.

His shield itself had been used against him. She had stowed her weapon and shield. With two hands, she twisted his shield a full ninety degrees while forcing his upper arm to stay in one spot. His elbow was instantly dislocated and now hung limply by his side.

Pyrrha must have thought she had won the fight. Despite the advantage she now held, she backed away, watching him. Compared to him, save for the way she sucked in deep breaths, she looked like she hadn’t been fighting him at all. Like she was just engaged in another ordinary spar.

_Wait..._

_She looks normal. Like, completely normal._

Jaune tried to focus his eyes as they swam from the pain.

_Crap, she really did a number on me._

With a shake of his head, he managed to gather his wits enough to confirm his suspicion. The red skin, the increased vascularity, even the body heat, and steam was all gone.

She had once told him the adrenaline burst only worked for a short time. He swore he had seen it last longer in the fight against Yang and Blake though.

Pyrrha stood proudly, unmoving as Jaune observed her. She did not attempt to approach him.

_She said it lasted a short time, but maybe it’s also based on how you use it. Maybe she can release it all at once for a larger increase to her strength instead of leaking it over time._

_Whatever the case, there was one more thing she told me._

_It leaves her exhausted._

Pyrrha wasn’t just standing aside watching as a show of sportsmanship. She was doing her best to recover and catch her breath so that she could finish the job.

Jaune gritted his teeth and pulled his arm back into place. He turned his shield back into a sheathe and reattached it to his hip.

“I'll break the other arm next!” Pyrrha warned when Jaune took a single step forward.

“You’re going to have to do more than that to stop me!” Jaune grunted before breaking into a sprint.

Pyrrha clicked her tongue and shifted her weapon into its javelin form.

With pinpoint thrusts that tracked his body, she kept Jaune at a distance. He was unable to block with his shield and just slide in like he normally would. But right now, his partner’s movements were sluggish.

Jaune slapped her spear away by striking it upwards. Naturally, she brought it back down with a slash. The fraction of a second it took gave Jaune the chance to sidestep while breaking into his effective range.

Her weapon shifted, and she pre-emptively blocked with her shield as Jaune swung as hard as he could. At this point, he needed every point of aura he had to maintain his strength. Every minute that passed he grew weaker, and if he didn’t press his advantage, Pyrrha would recover.

Jaune swung and swung, over and over. Pyrrha redirected blows as skillfully as her fatigued body could. The damage she sustained was reduced to barely a percent on the meter.

A thrust went under Jaune’s armpit as he barely dodged by lifting his arm and swaying to the side.

Pyrrha flowed through the thrust until her arm interlocked with his own. She grabbed his left wrist and tugged, re-dislocating the injured joint.

“Fuck!” Jaune swore.

On instinct, Jaune swung out at her lead leg with his sword.

“Heavy Strike!” he shouted without actually activating the skill.

She reequipped her shield and moved it to block his strike.

Exactly what Jaune had hoped for.

Jaune released his grip on his weapon with a final push. His blade smacked uselessly into Pyrrha’s guard. In the same instant, his hand snaked up, striking Pyrrha in the throat.

“Ack!” Pyrrha choked in surprise.

With a flash of her Semblance, she threw Jaune’s sword off the arena’s edge. In return, Jaune lifted her off her feet before slamming her into the ground head first. She blocked the worst of the damage to her throat and skull with aura.

Quickly transitioning into a mount, Jaune brought his fist onto Pyrrha’s face over and over. He tried his best to seek out vital points like her nose, philtrum, temples, and jaw. In his rush, he was off-target nearly every time, but even then, with his strength, the blows ate away her aura.

Jaune suddenly threw himself away from his partner as his danger sense screamed. Looking back, his partner's hands were positioned where his eyes and groin were.

“Low blows are dirty fighting,” Jaune complained.

“I learned from the best. Call it payment for teaching you how to fight like that.” Pyrrha replied.

They each glanced at the scoreboard. In terms of pure aura, Jaune still had triple what Pyrrha did. But the scoreboard told a different story.

Both of their auras were blinking red. Each barely a millimeter away from the disqualification mark.

Jaune had long ago been forced to deactivate his muscle augmentation. From what he could see, Pyrrha wasn’t using her Semblance to enhance her strength anymore either.

With no aura to spare on fancy techniques or Semblances, there was only one thing that mattered. Who could land their next hit first.

“Why not use your rifle?” Jaune asked, although he already had a good idea.

“And accidentally dip just below the disqualification line? I don’t think so. As negligible as the amount of aura required to activate dust is, it’s not zero. I don’t have the aura control you do to perfectly measure it either. Plus we both know you’ve got the predictive and reactive skills to cut them out of the air with your sword.” Pyrrha explained.

“True. I guess that means no Semblances or aura tricks then. My fist, against your spear.” Jaune stated.

“Not quite!” Pyrrha shouted, suddenly stepping into reach.

Pyrrha threw her shield at him while feinting with her spear. Jaune managed to read her intent and dodge the flying discus with a quick duck forward. With his momentum and body weight forward and low to the ground, Pyrrha thrust at the center of his body. It would be hard for him to dodge this attack.

So he didn’t.

Jaune drew his sheathe from his belt like he was drawing a sword and batted the thrust aside. The look of shock on Pyrrha’s face drove him forward as he realized this might be about to pay off.

Pyrrha choked the handle of her spear, reducing her reach but regaining control of her weapon. She would be able to pull off one more thrust this way. Jaune still was in no position to dodge, too focused on moving forward. If he tried to deflect with his sword, he would lose the timing to land his counter attack. Pyrrha’s attack inched closer, moving in slow motion as Jaune's perception accelerated.

His thought process led him to a single conclusion. Jaune forced his already crippled arm in the road, absorbing the thrust without aura. With Pyrrha’s spear embedded between the bones of his forearm, he launched the match-deciding swing.

The sound of wind barely reached his ears from behind his head. On instinct, Jaune activated his aura on the back of his skull.

Pyrrha’s shield, wrapped in the black aura of her Semblance had yo-yoed back to hit him from behind.

“And the winner is Pyrrha Nikos!” the professors simultaneously announced the instant his aura flared.

The crowd was silent. Entire seconds passed, giving Jaune the time to process what had happened.

Finally, they erupted. The crowd was ecstatic; screaming, clapping, whistling, and cheering. But it wasn’t for Jaune.

_I lost..._

The realization finally dawned on him. Whether by luck or skill, Pyrrha had managed to stay one step ahead of his predictions. she managed to pull one last trick on him to win the match.

What made it worse, was it was exactly the type of trick he specialized in.

She had admitted to lacking the control of her aura to measure how much she would use on a bullet. But in doing so, she only reinforced the incorrect assumption that she couldn’t use her Semblance. She had enough to redirect her lightweight shield mid-air. With its bladed edge, she hadn’t even needed much force to deal the amount of damage necessary.

Her weapon itself had been the feint, just like when he had thrown his sword and used his fist.

She had once again taken Jaune’s greatest ability and beat him at his own game.

“Jaune.”

Pyrrha stood before him with a hand offered for him to pull himself up with, a hand which he accepted.

Pyrrha pulled him onto his feet, then lifted his hand into the air. It was as if she was telling the crowd, ‘even though he didn’t win, he still deserves your applause’. The smile and wave he offered the crowd disguised the disappointment he felt.

Despite all the training and how often he had told everyone how important his promise was, he had failed.

“A match well fought-” Jaune tuned out the professors' dialogue and retreated further into his mind.

He racked his mind to see where he made the mistakes or what cost him the match. The downward spiral was leading him toward the hopeless thought that he never had a chance.

Vaguely he heard the professors instruct him to leave the stage. Pyrrha pulled him around by the hand, managing to get him back to a waiting room.

Something soft slammed into his lips and pushed into his mouth. The taste of iron invaded his senses shortly after.

Jaune pushed Pyrrha away from himself. “Pyrrha, what are you-”

Pyrrha was having none of it. She pulled him by the hair back into an even deeper and hungrier kiss as she straddled his thighs on the bench.

Jaune pulled away once more, managing to twist her head away from his with his hand.

“I don’t want your sympathy damn it!” he shouted.

“I’m not giving you sympathy you idiot. You’re amazing!” she shouted back just as loud and punching him in the chest. “I don’t care if that match was called in my favor, it was a technicality at best. You kept every part of your promise that mattered.”

“I lost!” Jaune enunciated.

“Yeah, you lost, but only because the tournament was set to exactly 10% as the cut off point. Only because I was able to abuse the system. To get you to 9.9% a fraction of a second before you caved my head in with your sheathe. Frankly, I don’t care about that anyway, that’s not the point. I didn’t get the nickname ‘Invincible girl’ because I never lose. I got it because no one even came close. I’ve never been brought below half capacity, most of the time it doesn’t even go below 70%. You destroyed all that and – sorry – you’re a complete newbie. You’ve had aura for barely a year, a class for about the same. I’ve been training with both since I was six. How could I not be amazed at that kind of genius you stupid idiot!” Pyrrha shouted right in his face, emphasizing her points with repeated strikes to his chest.

As soon as she sensed that Jaune was either too confused or in agreement, she jumped him once more.

The sheer excess of emotion she felt for him had to be expressed or she seemed like she might explode. She barely even had enough restraint to care about his butchered arm.

“Ahem.” An unknown voice made itself known from the doorway.

Jaune looked over Pyrrha’s shoulder as she ignored the voice and continued making love to his face.

The man wore an Atlas doctor’s uniform that he had seen before. They were in charge of treating the injuries of the fighters if necessary. Cardin had been collected by a team of people wearing this uniform after their match.

Jaune tried pushing Pyrrha away to explain. She was adamant that right now what she needed to do was give Jaune all of her overflowing appreciation. Jaune relented, neither seeing the point nor knowing how he could force her away in his current state. He gestured for the doctor to come in and just work around her as best he could with one arm.

The doctor sighed.

Setting up as best he could with Jaune mounted on a bench, the doctor set about stitching up the cut to his forearm. Then, with a squeeze, he reset the position of Jaune’s radius and ulna.

Jaune hadn’t even realized it had been injured. When Pyrrha wedged her spear between the two bones, she must have done some damage to his wrist. The ambient pain of the open wound that wasn’t healing fast enough from his aura was enough to mask that.

“Don’t bite your partner.” The doctor advised.

Jaune quickly pushed her head to the side, letting her focus on his neck instead. The doctor pulled Jaune’s elbow back into place and set it into a ninety-degree angle. Jaune groaned, gritting his teeth and thanking the doctor for the warning. The doctor wrapped a cloth around Jaune’s wrist and tied it behind his neck as a makeshift sling.

He flashed the proper sling in front of Jaune’s face before tossing it onto the bench beside him and muttering. Jaune managed to catch something about ‘damn hormonal kids’ before he left.

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief now that the first aid was finished. Although, he had to admit the feeling of Pyrrha kissing trails along his collarbone was nice too. It wouldn’t take long for his aura to start regenerating and eventually healing his wounds at this rate.

_Speaking of aura..._

“Pyrrha, you should focus on recovering your aura. You have two more matches after this.” Jaune reminded.

“I don’t care about those. I need this.” She hastily replied.

“I care though. Call me selfish, but I want to have lost to the girl who won the whole thing, not the girl who got 4th place.”

To Jaune’s surprise, that worked in getting her to stop.

“Is that what you really want?” she asked.

Jaune nodded.

“It is. Two more fights, a little over 7 hours. Then I’m all yours I promise.”

“What about the transfer, we have to do that right after...” Pyrrha mumbled.

“After the transfer, we’ll have the rest of our lives for stuff like this.” Pyrrha looked unconvinced, so Jaune compromised. “I tell you what... You get your aura up to capacity, and I’m all yours. The faster you get it done, the more time we’ll have. I’ll even get us food while you rest up.”

Pyrrha struggled with the options. She screwed up her face as she weighed the pleasure now against the reward later.

“Get me something sweet then. You made me bite my tongue when you throat-punched me and I want to get the taste of blood out of my mouth.” She finally consented, stating that as casually as breathing.

Finally, for the first time since he lost, Jaune cracked a smile and laughed.

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 14**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 30 (75)**

**Fortitude: 35 (88)**

**Dexterity: 23 (57)**

**Aura: 30/30 (100/100)**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Construction: Level 0]  
** Reduced mistakes when performing construction or repair jobs.   
An innate understanding of structures comes with skill level.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **Semblance: Aura Amp**  
Increase the effect of aura skills by condensing aura.  
Aura can be condensed x2(3.2) based on aura control.  
Aura consumption is increased by the current aura density multiplier.  
Effect of aura skills is increased by the current aura density multiplier.  
Aura skills can gain unique features at higher levels of aura density.  
Secondary pool of aura (70) can be used to refill or condense reserves.

 **[Aura Control: Level 6]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 26%   
All Aura abilities are 60% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 4]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 14(22) Damage

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 4]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 14(22) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**  
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(240)% per aura/hr drained.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 4]**  
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura. Additionally, within the same radius, you can observe aura in all creatures that have it.  
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 100(160) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter when using aura.

 **[Aura Emission: Level 5]**   
Disconnect your aura from its source and project it outwards.   
Aura Emission techniques cost 50% more aura.   
Aura Emission techniques weaken over distance. 5% reduction over 1(1.6) meters.  
Aura Slash: For each 1(1.5) points of aura used in this technique, deal base attack damage + base aura spent x0.6

 **[Aura Step: Level 5]  
** Channel aura through your feet into a surface to generate increased friction and force.  
Error margin : 5%

 **[Aura Concealment: Level 0]**   
Aura Recovery while aura is concealed +10%   
Internal aura skills efficiency increased by 10%   
Aura awareness while aura is concealed improved by 10%   
Concealed aura is harder to detect.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 5]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 15(24) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 2xFortitude, injury can occur.

 **[Meditation: Level 8]**   
Aura Recovery Rate +180% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 9] (Passive)  
** Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 9] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 90%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 9%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 45%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 7] (Passive)  
** Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 70%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 35%

 **[Hand to Hand Skill: Level 4] (Passive)  
** Increase damage with all unarmed attacks by 20%  
Increase hit rate with all unarmed attacks by 4%  
Increase unarmed defense efficiency by 20%

 **[Willpower: Level 1]  
** Force your will onto others through your aura.  
Can simulate emotion or even cause a variety of mental conditions in the target.  
Use of this skill is also the defense against this skill.

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.  
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de** **grâce** **!]  
** A finishing blow to an injured opponent.  
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.  
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.  
Cooldown 3 seconds.  
Recharge 60 seconds.


	44. The Tournament V

“Here you go son, it’s on the house. Consider it a consolation prize for an amazing fight.” The stall owner said as he handed over several cans of soft drink.

Jaune tucked them into his sling, readjusting several other items to make space.

“Thanks,” Jaune replied with a forced smile.

He’d gone through the same conversation everywhere he went. He almost felt guilty about the whole thing as after Pyrrha’s outburst, he wasn’t exactly in need of consoling. Honestly, the only thing that was bothering him right now was all the future drama he knew was coming. The discussion with his team and Pyrrha's aura transfer would be a lot more painful than his broken arm.

His family had contacted him, and for once they had nothing but praise to give. Even Coral restricted herself to backhanded compliments. Jaune couldn't help but feel a twinge of smug pride knowing that he'd proven his family's doubts wrong.

“You look like shit.” A voice from behind him stated.

Jaune turned around to see Cardin dressed up in bandages like a mummy standing behind him.

“God it’s cathartic to see you roughed up like that,” Jaune replied.

Despite their beginnings, Cardin's dedication deserved at least a little respect from Jaune. The guy might be terrible at giving apologies, and his ethics are a bit obscure, but he wasn’t a bad guy. Jaune could overlook their history and entertain a working relationship. Though, it would be one built on brutal honesty and a desire to one-up the other.

“This is nothing. I’m up and walking in only two days. What did it take you? Two weeks?” Cardin pushed.

Jaune gritted his teeth and forced a smile.

“Well, you know how it is. Not everyone fights an opponent who is willing to give first aid afterward. Some of us fight real battles with real consequences.”

“True. Though if I can avoid shitty nicknames like ‘The Vanguard of Vale’ then I think I’ll stick to beating up losers.”

“Asshole.” Jaune spat.

Cardin laughed right in Jaune’s face with genuine glee.

“Well for what it’s worth, one loser to another, I think you did alright,” Cardin said with what sounded like actual sincerity.

“I’m glad the great Cardin Winchester thinks I did ‘alright’...” Jaune sarcastically drawled. “Thanks though. I appreciate it.”

Cardin nodded and walked away. Enough had been said apparently.

Jaune checked his scroll for both the time and the status of the broadcast. Especially on the last day, advertisements are pretty extreme. Fortunately, there was a timer that indicated the exact runtime of the remaining ads. People who needed the bathroom, or in Jaune's case food, knew how much time they had.

If Jaune rushed, he wagered he could make it back to the waiting room to watch the match on a better screen.

So, while trying not to spill the contents of his sling, Jaune raced back to the waiting room. Pyrrha was still meditating in the same position as when he'd left.

“Oh good, if you’re still doing that then I haven’t missed the fight.” Said Jaune.

“No, you missed it,” Pyrrha replied.

“What?! How? I swear I didn’t take that long, I should have at least made it in time to see the end.”

“There was no end. Those two girls from Atlas got put against each other and one of them surrendered instantly. After our match, the audience is going to be upset by that. Now let me concentrate.”

Jaune shuffled his feet awkwardly. It was good that Pyrrha was focusing on recovering her aura, but the cold food was getting hot and the hot food cold.

Jaune took a seat next to her in the end, placing her share of the food in her lap for her to have when she was ready. Jaune started eating, but while he did, he took the time to try and piece together a few things that he had learned.

Unlocking details of his Semblance in the middle of a fight like that wasn’t exactly ideal. Now though, he had all the time in the world to try and wrap his head around it.

Just like his sister had guessed, his Semblance was a fusion of both his mother and father’s Semblances.

Where his father had a dense aura all the time, Jaune was capable of condensing his with pure aura control. The better his control, the greater the density he was capable of. Making his aura twice as dense had the effect of making it twice as potent and twice as costly. By itself, this was a useless ability. Fortunately, techniques gained unique benefits at higher levels of density.

From what he could tell, the cutting power of his aura slash was one such benefit. That much aura would normally occupy a larger space. Against creatures dozens of times larger than him it was fine. It wasn’t as good against smaller creatures or those with a hide that could withstand pure force. When condensed though, it had all of the power packed into a smaller space. A perfect razor-sharp edge with all the force from before.

The other half of his Semblance came from his mother. The second pool of aura was connected, yet separate at the same time. It contained well over double the amount of aura he normally had. With it, he could pull off large-scale attacks one after by replenishing his main reserves.

It wasn’t quite as simple as just having more aura though.

Jaune had spent maybe 15 minutes in total since the fight finished. By his math, with a total aura capacity of 100, that should have equated to 3 or 4 points of recovery. But despite this, he had only barely regained a single point of aura.

At any given time he could only access the aura stored in his main reserve. It seemed that for the same reason, his regeneration was based on that reserve too. Presumably, once he had replenished his first ‘tank’ he would begin to fill the second as a backup.

As interesting as all this was, it didn’t answer every question. What Jaune wanted to know more than anything, was what his other aura skills were capable of now.

Glancing down at his arm, still wrapped up in its sling, Jaune thought to test the limits of his healing first.

_With my current aura, I’d normally be able to get 40 minutes of accelerated healing. Roughly the equivalent of a good night’s rest for someone without aura. If I condense my aura, I can probably only expect 10 to 15 minutes. I wonder what the difference will be though._

Jaune forced his aura into one spot, right where the cut on his forearm was, and activated his aura healing.

At first glance, it was faster, even more so than expected. The wound itself itched and Jaune could feel the fibers stitching back together in real-time. But after a few minutes, Jaune began to notice several other differences.

First was that he was starting to feel out of breath, not a common symptom of aura usage. Then, even though he was healing, he began to feel weaker. Jaune lifted his right hand to observe a slight shake in his fingers. The simple act of holding his arm up was proving a struggle. His forearm seemed smaller than normal like his muscles had shrunk. Further observation proved this to be true all over his body, though only by a mild degree. Worse than all of that though, was the hunger. It was like he hadn’t eaten all day.

Jaune couldn’t stop himself from tearing into the food which he had only been grazing at slowly. With every mouthful, the hunger and shaking lessened. Even his body seemed to return to its normal size at an unnatural pace. Frankly, it was freaking Jaune out.

Jaune was no scientist. Even so, the signs all pointed to one logical conclusion. Somehow his body was converting its energy stores into whatever it needed to heal. The inch-thick gash in his forearm felt like little more than a scratch and in so little time. So long as he didn’t let his body run out of fuel, it was an amazing technique.

_I wonder if dad had to deal with this, or if it’s unique to my Semblance..._

“We once again apologize to our viewers for the results of the previous match. We are now back and ready for the third match of the quarter-finals.” Doctor Oobleck’s voice spoke from the TV.

“Oh! Pyrrha, the next match is about to start. You should watch it, the winner could be your next opponent.” Said Jaune excitedly.

“I suppose I can spare a few minutes to watch our friends fight,” Pyrrha replied.

“Yeah exactly! Blake or Yang could be up next, they might even end up fighting each other as we did! Wouldn’t it be weird if every fight in the quarterfinals had partners facing each other? Oh, by the way, how is the recovery going?” Jaune blurted out his multiple questions, eager to make use of the time where she wasn't busy.

Pyrrha smiled at his antics.

“I’m up to about 20% now. Without interruptions, I’ll probably have recovered my aura within another 2 hours. I can focus on stamina and fatigue after that.” She answered. “Thanks for the food by the way.”

Mercury’s face appeared on the screen.

“Oh hey, Mercury is fighting. You fought him once, how do you think he’ll do?” Jaune asked.

“He was holding back in our spar. He had excellent timing, but he just didn’t take any opportunities. It was like he was waiting for something that never came, then he just surrendered. Unfortunately, he can’t win this tournament.” Pyrrha replied.

“Why not? If he was holding back, maybe he has some tricks up his sleeve.”

“Not up his sleeve, but hidden in his boots. He has prosthetic legs, metal ones. When he comes up against me, I’ll be able to end the fight whenever I want.”

“Wait, really? How’d you work that one out?”

“The sound he made when he kicked my shield was distinctly metallic. I tried to use my Semblance on him to redirect one of his attacks. When I’m controlling something I can sort of feel it with my Semblance, and I could feel all the moving parts.”

The match display displayed the second fighter for this match; Blake.

“Oh!” Pyrrha suddenly exclaimed. “This match should be very interesting! It’s not often you get to see a match between two assassins. Especially ones who are so opposed on the assassin spectrum like they are.”

“The assassin spectrum?” Jaune asked.

Pyrrha nodded.

“It's one of the things my tutors taught me. Two people might share a class, but the way they grow can be completely different. We call that the class spectrum. Blake isn’t the type of fighter to focus on how she can take out an opponent, but rather, how she can confuse them. Whether she uses that confusion to deal damage is up to her, but her specialty is in evasion and trickery. From what I’ve seen of Mercury, he is the exact opposite. He is quite talented in a straight-up fight, able to take on martial class fighters like Yatsuhashi. When he fights, he doesn’t try to out trick you, but rather, he tries to out skill you.” Pyrrha explained.

“So what about the matchup between Ren and Fox?” Jaune asked.

“That was a situation where they had grown in very similar ways. Neither Fox nor Ren seem to have dedicated their time to their martial skills. Instead, they each focused on aura skills. As such, it came down purely to who was more skilled.”

Jaune knew he shouldn’t have been surprised. Still, he was impressed by his partner’s never-ending wealth of fighting knowledge. She knew more about fighting than just how she should move in response to certain threats. She was intimately aware of the meta-knowledge that many others didn’t even consider.

Jaune didn’t have long to think about it though. The fight was already in its countdown and Pyrrha was clambering over to turn him into a seat.

Jaune wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and spread his legs out so she could sit between them.

Jaune wasn’t able to view the match as well as he could were he out in the crowd with his aura sight. Even then, the match proved incredibly entertaining.

Blake’s clones gave her the ability to instantly maneuver several feet. She didn’t even need something to kick off as Jaune did with his aura step for high-speed movement. She could be mid-air one moment and behind you the next. In a one-on-one battle, she could use this to its fullest.

With no allies to cover his blind spots, Mercury would have to sense where she had teleported to. He had to operate within the instant between when she disappeared to when she struck. With Blake’s natural talent in stealth, something like sound wasn’t going to be a factor. It was like watching a repeat of the training Oz had put him through.

Except where Jaune had been learning, it seemed that Mercury already had the answers.

No matter how many times Blake appeared in his blind spots, Mercury was able to defend. Occasionally, he even managed a counter-attack, though none had landed thus far.

Blake tried using her Semblance multiple times in a row. She jumped from blind spot to blind spot. Somehow Mercury seemed able to read exactly when Blake planned to strike.

A near miss flew over Blake’s head as Mercury nearly caught her with a spinning back fist. Blake displaced herself backward and put as much room as possible between them. Her weapon transformed into a gun and she shot him with no regard for conservation.

It became apparent in an instant that it wasn’t going to work when Mercury outran Blake’s bullets on foot.

“He’s fast,” Jaune stated the obvious.

“The assassin class’s main stat is dexterity, and it’s clear that Mercury hasn’t slacked on his training,” Pyrrha replied.

Blake soon ran out of ammunition in her current magazine. In the fraction of a second it took her to reload, Mercury fired a single blast out of the sole of his shoe. It collided with the ground at Blake’s feet and exploded. Thick white smoke covered the battlefield.

And then suddenly, silence.

The microphones were good enough to pick up Blake’s breathing if you listened closely. But even still, there was no sign of Mercury’s presence.

The smoke stirred, barely detectable on the cameras. Blake grunted after a loud impact of metal on aura echoed.

Whatever happened knocked her aura down by half.

Seconds later an explosive gust of wind cleared the smoke from the arena.

Mercury stood arrogantly near the border of the arena. With arms crossed, he waited for Blake to recover. Blake meanwhile was grasping at her head in visible discomfort. Her ears were flat against her head. Blake only did that when she was bothered by something.

“Blake’s bow is missing!” Jaune suddenly realized.

Jaune flicked through the channels to observe several of the different cameras. Finally, he found where it had gone. Mercury was holding it in his hand.

“Oops, I guess the cats out of the bag now,” Mercury said, loud enough for everyone in the audience to hear.

“Give it back,” Blake ordered.

“Oh, sure,” Mercury said with a shrug.

He waltzed over to Blake, holding the ribbon out in his hand for Blake to take.

The moment she reached out, Mercury struck. His first kick connected with the underside of her jaw, launching her several feet into the air.

Mercury leaped above her, using the explosive power of his artificial legs to boost him. He spun into a somersault. Using the rotation he planted an axe kick to Blake’s solar plexus and driving her back to the ground. Blake's aura shattered and evaporated on contact with the ground.

“Mercury Black wins!” The professors announced.

Mercury brushed himself off then threw Blake’s ribbon down onto the ground beside her.

“Jaune, you should go check up on her and everyone else,” Pyrrha suggested, pulling his attention away from the screen.

“Right.”

**/-/**

It didn’t take long for Jaune to find Blake. He had been lucky enough to catch the others racing from the stands and he fell in line behind them.

“Blake!” Ruby shouted as she sped through the doorway.

Jaune and all the others piled in behind her shortly after.

Physically she seemed fine, barely a scratch on her. She only shattered her aura after impacting the ground after all.

Mentally, however, she wasn’t doing as well.

You could almost mistake her current mood for her usual anti-social calmness. But the way she held and stared at her bow rather than putting it back on betrayed much of her true emotions.

“You look better without the bow anyway Blake.” Said Sun, trying to lighten the mood.

“It’s not about how I look.” She replied.

“It’s not like people out there are going to put your whole history together just because they saw you have ears,” Jaune stated. “We took classes on the current leadership in Menagerie and none of us realized until we found out.”

“I don’t care what people think or find out either!” Blake fumed.

“Then... what’s wrong?” Ruby asked softly.

“This whole time I’ve been hiding who I am. I wanted to be honest with everyone and myself when I was comfortable. I wanted to do it on my terms. But I had the choice taken away from me. I hate that.” Blake explained.

“I understand how you’re feeling. I’ve spent my whole life having my decisions taken away from me. There’s nothing worse. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make the best of this. You were going to do this anyway, so make it yours.” said Weiss.

Blake stared back at the ribbon in her hand. For a moment, Jaune wondered if nothing they had said had gotten through. Blake soon put an end to that thought as she stood up with a determined look in her eyes.

“You’re right. It’s not the end of the world.” Blake stated.

With some hesitation, she wrapped the ribbon around her arm, joining it with the others.

“So what now?” Sun asked, disturbing the mood. “You’re going to get back at that guy still, right? What he did wasn’t cool.”

“No.” Jaune and the others whipped around to the door to see Yang standing there. Her eyes were glowing red. “There’s no need for Blake to bring herself down to his level.”

“Well said.” Weiss praised.

“Not after what I have planned for him.” She continued and Weiss’ face fell.

“Yang no.” Ruby gently scolded.

“Yang yes!” Nora exclaimed.

“Don’t worry. I’m just going to mess him up a bit and make sure he loses the tournament.” Yang confessed.

“You’ve got to beat his partner first.” Jaune reminded.

Despite having spoken plenty of times in the discussion thus far, it seemed as though no one had realized. Blake's plight had taken precedence. Now though?

“Jaune! Oh my god, your match was so cool!” Ruby gushed. “It was such a close match too!”

Jaune waved his good arm dismissively.

“It wasn’t all that special. I just happened to know some tricks to deal with Pyrrha and had a bit of power to back that up. I’m sure Yang is going to blow my attempt out of the water once she is finished with Emerald and Mercury.”

“Pyrrha must be hurt to know you’re on my side instead of hers.” Yang teased.

“Did I say that? She’s going to destroy you and everyone else in this tournament. I just meant your match will be more entertaining.” Yang scowled. Jaune piled on one last jab. “You’re flashy, but Pyrrha doesn’t lose.”

“Yeah? Well, we’ll see won’t we?!” Yang shouted as she stormed away to her match.

“Was that entirely necessary? That’s my partner you’re sending on a warpath.” Said Blake.

“She was already on a warpath.” Weiss corrected. “Jaune just put himself in the firing line, that’s all.”

Blake stepped up to Jaune and poked him in the temple with her pointer finger.

“I believe he did the same last time I was having Faunus issues... I wonder what it is about me that attracts these troublesome blondes.” She wondered aloud.

Jaune, to his credit, took her teasing in stride.

“I’m just a sucker for a damsel in distress, can’t help myself. Sun would know though.” He replied, shifting the attention perfectly.

“Huh? I mean uhh her... hair?” Sun offered.

“Can’t be that. Jaune prefers red-heads. What else is there?” Blake pushed with a smile, Sun took an awkward backstep.

"Just tell the truth and admit it's her as-" Nora began.

“Okay, you three. Cut the guy some slack.” Neptune requested to Sun’s great relief.

“Well, in any case. As long as everything is fine, I’m heading back. Pyrrha sends her regards by the way.” Said Jaune.

“Ooh! That’s perfect, we’ll come with you.” Said Nora happily.

“Right. Thanks for coming to see me, everyone.” Said Blake with an earnest smile.

“What are friends for?” Jaune replied.

**/-/**

Jaune took Ren and Nora under the arena to collect his gear. Their multiple working arms were a boon he was more than happy to put to use.

“I can’t believe you stripped down in front of the crowd. Talk about fan service!” Nora exclaimed.

Jaune blushed a little bit. The members of team SSSN had a fan group that was always drooling over the boys' muscles. He hoped that nothing like that developed as a result.

“That wasn’t my intention. I just didn’t want Pyrrha picking me up and throwing me out of the ring with her Semblance. She already gave me enough grief trying to control my sword as I swung.” Jaune explained.

“Speaking of Semblances, that was far more aura than normal. Did you finally work it out?” Ren asked. His aura sight must have revealed a lot about that fight that would have gone unnoticed by others.

“I did yeah. You’ll have to wait for the demonstration though. I’m tapped out.”

Ren nodded understandingly while Nora seemed to pout at the minor inconvenience.

Jaune led them back to Pyrrha’s waiting room. She was up and moving which was a good sign. He didn’t want to distract her from meditation twice in a row.

“Pyrrha!” Nora shouted the minute she entered the room. “You totally kicked butt! That other schmuck didn’t stand a chance.”

“Umm... 'That other schmuck' is standing behind you, you know?” Pyrrha reminded.

Nora didn’t even bother looking over her shoulder to see Jaune’s incredibly forced smile.

“Yeah, but forget about him. He won't even agree to show us his new super powers, so he’s on the naughty list.”

Jaune shrugged and started taking off the bandages around his forearm. Ren sat down beside him, all too happy to stay out of the conversation as long as possible.

Nora praised Pyrrha’s performance, pointing out all her favorite parts. She was especially striking with her comments on how much cooler Pyrrha’s moves were than her opponent’s. Jaune couldn’t work out what he’d done to justify the provocations, so he just ignored them.

Yang’s match was bound to start any moment now and it would be straight to the action this time. As the final match of the quarterfinals, there was no delay caused by matchmaking. Jaune would have to stay put and tolerate the not so subtle harassment aside for now.

“How’s the arm?” Ren asked, finally providing a distraction.

“Better than you’d think, but not as well as I’d like. I’m running low on a lot of things right now.” Jaune stated.

“Such as?”

“Interestingly enough, food is an issue. I can probably finish healing this arm before the semi-finals. But at that rate, I'll starve without food on hand. The accelerated healing makes me hungry like nothing else.”

“If you want I can go get you something?” Ren offered.

Jaune was tempted to take him up on that, but he had another realization at the same time. After this match, there would be several hours before the next. There was a good chance that Pyrrha might be getting a visit from the professors soon. Each member of team JNPR was right here, and he wasn’t sure when the next best opportunity would be.

“Thanks, but no. There’s something a bit more important to take care of first... Pyrrha?” Jaune prompted.

“Now?” Pyrrha whined.

Jaune nodded.

Pyrrha shuffled her feet for a little while, unsure of how to start.

“I... that is to say, we have been offered an opportunity to study abroad, among other things. We had a discussion a few days ago with several professors and they all think it would be for the best. Jaune and I talked it over and agree, so now it’s time we asked for your opinions.” Said Pyrrha.

Her explanation was very barebones, no doubt to keep the bigger secret. Jaune stepped in to smooth it over a bit.

“They explained that we’ll get to do a lot of traveling and even work while we study. It’ll be a great opportunity for you both to go on those missions you wanted to. We’ll be training with professionals and experts from around the kingdoms. Our first stop will be Atlas, I don’t know for how long, but probably at least a year-”

“A year?!” Nora shouted. “What about team RWBY?”

Jaune knew that would be one of, if not the first question. It had been the same for him too, ignoring the focus on mortal peril of course.

“Nothing is stopping us from staying in contact. Plus because we aren’t studying traditionally, I bet we’ll get to visit lots.” Jaune lied. He knew that until Pyrrha had her powers under control, travel would be unlikely.

“You guys don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to. We’re a team of four, which means that there won’t necessarily be a majority ruling. If you wanted to stay, we’d understand.”

Nora made to stand up and walk away, but Jaune grabbed her wrist.

“Don’t!” Jaune ordered. “I understand the frustration, and that could have been worded better.”

Pyrrha’s eyes opened wide as she realized the implication.

“We want you to come with us. We’re a team. But we had a limited time to come to a decision, and we’ve already confirmed it. We can’t afford to be dancing on eggshells with each other because... Well, because we’ll probably be leaving tomorrow with the General.” Jaune finished.

Nora pulled her hand free but didn't try to leave, opting instead to cross her arms and fume silently.

“This is a very late notice. You’re asking us to uproot our lives with 24 hours' notice.” Ren stated.

“Less probably, it could be as early as tonight. And yes, I realize that it’s a lot to ask.” Jaune replied.

“But you’re asking us anyway.” Said Nora.

“It would mean a lot to have you come with us.” Said Pyrrha.

The TV flickered on, showing Yang and Emerald standing in the arena. The professors began giving their usual pre-match rundown.

_In hindsight, I could have picked a better time..._

“How about you guys think it over for a bit? We’ll answer any questions you have in the meanwhile.” Jaune offered.

“I think that would be best,” Ren stated. He looked over at Nora who didn’t look happy in the least and sighed. “We might need to talk by ourselves.”

Ren stepped forward and whispered to Jaune. “To be honest, the fact you both had only a few days means that I’m not personally too bothered. Nora however will take some convincing. It wasn’t that long ago that you both skipped out on her match, now you’re keeping secrets like this. Plus… she’s kind of sick of travelling, especially after she’d finally found her place.”

“The secret important thing from that day was this, just so we are clear. There’s more to it than we’re telling you. And we will tell you. We just need more time than we’ve been given.” Jaune whispered back.

Ren frowned but nodded.

“Come on Nora. If we’re fast, we can catch a seat with team RWBY to watch the match.” Said Ren as both he and Nora left.

When they left, Jaune put his good arm around Pyrrha’s shoulders.

“They’ll come around,” Jaune said confidently. “Let’s just focus on what we can do right now, okay?”

Pyrrha nodded and returned to her meditation.

**/-/**

The fight between Yang and Emerald had come to an unsurprising conclusion.

Yang’s anger fuelled her Semblance and made her stronger before she took a single blow.

If it wasn’t for Emerald's timely apology, she would have ended up getting hurt worse than she did. It seemed she knew how troublesome her teammate could be.

As it was, she got away with just the depleted aura and a bit of a beating. Mercury wouldn’t be as lucky.

There was a several-hour-long break between the first and second rounds. Different representatives got to give their end of festival speeches now. Several organizations even put together entertainment to keep the crowd excited.

Jaune didn’t spend much of his attention on them though. Half of his time was spent sending the occasional message to Ren and Nora. Neither had responded as of yet. So in the meantime, he focused on his recovery, and where he could spare it, the study of his new skills.

For the day, Jaune had no issues funding his newfound eating habit. It didn’t seem to matter what he ate or drank, as long as it was calorie-rich, it all got metabolized by his aura. By lunchtime, he was already healed and working on restocking his second reserve of aura. He knew though that he would have to work out a better solution than junk food for the future.

“Feels good to get this off. It’s only been a few hours, but I was getting sick of it already.” Jaune idly commented as he removed the sling.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Pyrrha replied.

With her higher level in meditation, she had finished her aura recovery a while ago. She was currently working out the kinks in her body from having sat stationary for so long. She stretched and shadow sparred to warm herself up for the next round.

“Do you need any help warming up?” Jaune offered.

He wasn't exactly unhappy to sit and watch the way his partner moved. He had missed that. But he still thought it polite to offer.

Pyrrha seemed hesitant, no doubt because she was the one who injured him most recently.

“Okay.” She finally decided. “But we're only doing some light sparring. Neither one of us wants another injury.”

Jaune lifted his sword from the pile his gear was sitting in, deciding to leave his armor for now.

He gave it a few experimental swings.

_I should probably increase its weight again soon. It’s no good training with a weight I’m comfortable with._

_It will have to wait for now though, I shouldn’t waste the aura._

When Jaune signaled he was ready, Pyrrha and he began to spar.

Since their last practice spar, both their strengths and styles had changed. Despite this, it was easy for them to fall into a familiar rhythm. The only difference was that Jaune wasn't quite as easy an opponent anymore. Even without his muscle augmentation, Pyrrha had to treat his blows as threats. His still growing experience allowed him to predict his partner’s moves. Reacting to them was possible so long as she wasn’t going out of her way to push her limits.

“I think we need to start on finding a proper style for you soon. You’ve taken to the basics like a fish to water, I think you’re ready.” Said Pyrrha.

“What do you mean? I have a style, don’t I?” Jaune asked.

Sure, he swapped between a few different methods. But he was still fairly consistent. He was a sword fighter who could use a shield or unarmed strikes. That was his style.

“I meant in the more literal system-focused sense of the word,” Pyrrha replied. When it was clear Jaune wasn’t following she elaborated. “It’s a skill. Under certain conditions, upon leveling, you'll learn a new passive skill. They're incredibly rare at higher levels, so it's very important to do your best to try and get them if you can."

“But I don't get skills when I level...”

“Right, but I'm fairly confident you could learn it through training. Maybe it would be better if I gave you a few examples?”

Jaune nodded.

“Okay... So, Russel, he fights with two weapons. He might not have it yet, but if he continues training, he should one day get the dual-wielding skill. He will keep his dagger skill, but on top, he’ll be even more proficient while fighting with two weapons. Yatsuhashi is a second-year student, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he already has it. Fighting with a weapon that large, he’d be likely to learn some form of great weapon fighting skill. These are both examples of intermediate skills.” She thoroughly explained.

Jaune parried a blow that Pyrrha launched at him as he nodded, flipping her off for the cheap shot. She stuck her tongue out in response.

“So if those are intermediate, then is there advanced beyond that?” Jaune asked.

“Yeah. Rather than the weapon you use, advanced skills revolve around how you fight. Russel leans toward a style where he overpowers you with a high number of attacks. A very famous dexterity-based fighting style is the sword dance style. It requires perfect footwork and amazing accuracy in your body control. The masters of this style can move so fluidly between strikes that it looks like they’re dancing. In theory, it doesn’t even matter what weapon you use, as long as it doesn’t hinder your movement.”

“Sounds like something you’d be interested in,” Jaune commented.

“It is. I’ve always looked up to the sword dance as a goal to strive for in my fighting. Sadly, I think I might be a bit... stubborn for that style. I don’t think I have the mindset to achieve it, at least, not yet.” Pyrrha replied, sounding less than thrilled.

Jaune landed a push kick to her stomach while she was reflecting.

“So what about me then? From what you said earlier, you seemed to have an idea.” Jaune asked, curious.

Pyrrha shoulder-checked Jaune, only for him to rebuff her with a redistribution of his weight.

“That right there!” She stated the moment it happened. “You’ve naturally had a predisposition for a heavier fighting style. Out of all the students at Beacon, you’re one of the few who wears armor. I wear it for my Semblance, and Cardin wears it because he relies on damage exchanges. You though, you don’t have a reason quite that limiting.”

Originally, it had been to cover for his lack of aura. Now though, Jaune's reasons were just 'why wouldn't I wear armor?'

“You know how to manipulate your center of gravity quite well, you’re grounded and frankly kind of heavy. What you need is a style that can make use of all that weight. Not just in your blade, but your whole body. A shield charge, a tackle, even a shove from you can have a great impact. Perfect for the Crashing Wave style.” Pyrrha continued.

“The Crashing Wave style? Sounds...” _Awesome._ “...like a good place to start. So what should I be doing then, to learn the new skill?”

“Well normally, you would just hope that your future level-ups would grant it to you. Whatever your natural style is, is what you'll get. I’d imagine as long as you start training with the style in mind you’ll unlock it like you do everything else.” Pyrrha explained.

_The style seems to revolve around moving your opponent by using your body weight. It’s not a sword style, but rather a martial art._

_I guess the simplest way to use it would be..._

Jaune slashed at Pyrrha, crossing her sword with his own in front of her chest. Normally, Jaune would have used Pyrrha’s defensive counter to reverse into a second swing. This time, however, Jaune stepped in even closer without breaking their blade lock. Under ideal conditions, he would force her to backstep, letting Jaune gain the initiative.

Pyrrha was not an ideal opponent.

At this very moment, she had more than enough strength to fend off his attack and push him backward. Were he fighting at his fullest, it might have worked, but the stat difference was too much.

“That’s good.” Pyrrha praised. “By using your weight and strength, you take away your opponent’s options. You control the flow of the fight. Hence the style’s name.”

“I can see the merits, but you kind of just proved it has a pretty huge weakness. If my opponent is stronger than me, it’s useless. What am I supposed to do against Grimm? All the armor in the world and I wouldn’t compare to the average Boarbatusk.”

“Ahh well... I have to admit that I’m not exactly an expert in the style. I just did some quick research on what might suit you after all. Plus most of these styles aren’t built for dealing with Grimm. They’re more for human on human contact, specifically one on one fights.” Pyrrha admitted. “Still though, it’s not like you have to fight in a certain way once you start learning a style. You’ll always have your basic skills to fall back on!”

“Can all competitors head to the arena? The second round is about to begin.” Ms. Goodwitch’s voice ordered from a set of speakers within each of the rooms.

“Guess that’s your signal. I’m going to watch from the stands, okay?” said Jaune.

“Okay. I’ll make sure to put on a good show for you!” Pyrrha promised.

“Can’t wait.”

**/-/**

“Oh! Jaune, come sit with us!” Ruby urged.

Jaune was happy for the enthusiastic welcome. Ren and Nora were here, but he wanted to offer them some space.

When Jaune took his seat next to the short girl, she was instantly all over him. She pulled on his sleeve and bounced in her chair with the energy that reminded him of Nora after a sugar binge.

“Who do you think will fight? I can’t wait to watch Penny and Yang fight. Oh, and Pyrrha too, of course! I can’t believe they all made it to the finals, this is so great. No matter who wins, I get to hang out with the winner!” Ruby was practically vibrating.

“What about Mercury? He’s not exactly a pushover. Certainly gave Blake a run for her money.” Jaune reminded.

“A dirty trick at best, I wouldn’t have fallen for it in a real fight.” Blake retorted, sounding offended by the suggestion.

Jaune chose not to mention the fact that she hadn’t been doing amazingly before that.

“It doesn’t matter how good he is. Yang is Yang. We’ve spent the break calming her down as best we could. Even still, he’s probably going to be lucky if he gets out of this match with just a broken leg or something.”

“A broken leg? I don’t think he has anything to worry about then.” Jaune replied.

Ruby looked like she was about to ask him what he was talking about, but she was interrupted.

“We once again thank Mistral Academy for putting on such an excellent performance. Catching all those Grimm wasn't an easy task, but it made for an amazing gladiatorial show. But now, we finally return to the main event; The Vytal Festival tournament’s semifinal rounds!” Doctor Oobleck announced.

It seemed that the Grimm slaying had done a great job of keeping the crowd warm over the several-hour break. Their energy was as high as he remembered from his matches. This time, however, he was free to let himself get swept up in it.

“You know and love them, let’s get our four finalists onto the stage!” Professor Port declared.

“Mercury Black from team CMSN of Haven!” the doctor announced.

Mercury strutted onto the stage with hands in his pockets.

“He sure looks confident for a future cripple.” Weiss coldly commented.

“Yang Xiao Long from team RWBY of Beacon!”

Jaune had expected her to be lapping up the attention, but she almost stomped her way onto the stage. Her eyes were her usual lilac, but her attitude was clear. Right now, she meant business.

“Penny Polendina of team CPPR from Atlas!”

Ruby shouted words of encouragement for the girl, surprising Jaune. He picked up on it earlier, but Ruby seemed pretty close with her.

“You know her?” Jaune asked.

“Yeah! Wait, you don’t? Penny was the one who saved you at the docks. Didn’t you know that?” Ruby responded.

“No. No one told me. You’ll have to introduce me so I can thank her properly.”

“And finally, Pyrrha Nikos from team JNPR of Beacon!”

Jaune broke the conversation immediately to cheer for Pyrrha. Despite all the other noise, Pyrrha managed to pick him out of the crowd and give him a wave in response.

“From an initial cast of 64 talented fighters, these four have proven they're a cut above. There can however only be one winner, so without further delay, the matches!”

The four profiles shuffled on the display before lining up from left to right. With this, the rest of the tournament was decided.

“Oh, man...” Jaune commented when he saw the first match.

“Mercury Black versus Yang Xiao Long! Can the remaining participants please exit the arena?”

“God, it’s almost hard to believe these matches are random. I swear the biggest ticket fights are all happening exactly the way the crowd wants them to.” Said Jaune.

“What do you mean?” Blake asked.

“Pyrrha and I advertised our fight and it happened straight away. We got two assassins facing off, resulting in a decent upset. Now we have the revenge match between Mercury and Yang. Pyrrha versus Penny should be interesting too. They both seem to have similar Semblances.” Jaune explained.

“Penny doesn’t have a Semblance.” Ruby corrected.

“What? Then how do you explain the way she fights. Pyrrha controls her weapons mid-air with magnetism. I don’t think aura control could replicate that. Especially not with as many weapons as she uses.”

“Wait...” Ruby looked about ready to get up and leave, but with Yang’s fight almost underway, she restrained herself.

With the microphones in position, it was easy to hear the discussion occurring on the stage.

“I’m going to make you pay for outing my partner like that.” Yang threatened.

“Look, I’m sorry about that. I was just doing what I could to win. I promise I’ll apologize in person after this.” Mercury replied.

_He seems... a lot nicer than I thought he’d be. He sounds genuinely remorseful._

Yang growled.

“Shut up!” She shouted back, eyes flashing. “You’re not going anywhere near my partner.”

“Woah, Yang?” Blake asked aloud, verbalizing what everyone was thinking.

Her response was way more aggressive than it needed to be.

“I understand. For what it’s worth, I am sorry. Hopefully, we can still have a good match?” Mercury replied, offering his hand to shake.

Yang ignored it, her face twisting into a scowl. She raised her hands into a fighting position.

Two seconds later, the match began and all bets were off.


	45. Revelation I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not uploading this chapter last week, I'm not used to having this upload as part of my schedule like I am with FF.

Jaune knew from experience how one’s perception of the arena depended entirely on who was in there with you.

If you were trying to push into someone’s guard, it could feel like your opponent had all the space in the world.

Right now though, Mercury was no doubt feeling how small that space actually was. At just 8 meters from side to side, it was small enough. But trapped in there with Yang, it was bound to feel like not even half that.

Her shotgun gauntlets made every punch that she threw even more lethal than it already was. Her reach was extended as the explosive buckshot fired out in a cone from the end of every blow. The kind of pressure she must be putting out was ridiculous.

Jaune likened a fight with Yang to the shows he had seen as a kid. A ‘tame’ lion being held back by nothing more than a wooden chair and a whip, or in his case, a shield and sword.

This lioness of course was nowhere near as tame and had all the motivation to tear out Mercury’s throat it needed. He didn’t even have a chair either.

Fortunately for Mercury, what he did have was a very high-level in unarmed combat. Despite being a kick-based fighter, he knew how to defend against a boxer like Yang. He pushed her strikes offline where they couldn’t hurt him.

With every punch that Yang threw, her frustration grew. It was tangible in the crowd in the form of a steadily building heat. Mercury hadn’t said a word since the fight began, but he’d managed to get Yang to the edge of a full-blown explosion.

And then he touched her hair.

After deflecting a stone-shattering blow, he’d followed through with a clinch. Rather than grabbing the back of her head though, he grabbed a fistful of her hair. He used it to throw her to the ground where his rising kick was waiting.

Yang’s hair ignited. The sheer heat of it would have fried those in the front seats were it not for the arena's shields. When the kick reached her, she stopped it just short of her face with an open hand that wrapped around his ankle.

Mercury tried to pull away but found himself trapped within a vice-like grip that he couldn’t escape from. He showered Yang’s face and upper body with stomps from his free leg, but Yang shook them off like drops of rain.

Slowly she rose under his onslaught until his foot no longer made contact with the ground.

“I’ve had just about enough of this,” Yang growled.

In one final attempt to break free, Mercury completely left the ground, driving his knee into Yang’s face. Her aura rippled and the force alone was enough to break cartilage and make her nose bleed. But even then, she didn’t let go.

With Mercury held tight in the air, Yang used his leg as a handle and swung him like a club into the ground. Once, twice, and then thrice she slammed him headfirst into the concrete arena.

Jaune cringed at the sight. He had once seen her use that strength to completely lift a Grimm a hundred times his size into the air. Now all of that power was devoted to shattering the arena with her opponent's face.

After lifting him once more Yang threw him as hard as she could towards the closest edge of the arena.

Mercury tried to course-correct by using his leg-mounted weapons to propel him back. Yang wasn't having it. Before he'd even begun to reposition, she had chased him through the air.

Try as he might to dodge, Yang was able to react due to being able to fire her gauntlets at a higher rate than he could. She caught up to him and mounted him mid-air, wrapping her legs around his waist.

Together the two fell Mercury-first toward the ground. The collision with the arena had enough force to dislodge one of the concrete panels.

Yang had managed to maintain her mount through the crash. Without skipping a beat, she rained blows onto Mercury from above. Without his legs to block or maneuver with, his flawless defense from earlier was lacking. Yang rapidly drained his aura to 0.

“And with that Yang Xiao Long is our winner!” The professors announced after several seconds of awestruck silence.

Whatever the professors said next went unheard. Yang had been standing up from her defeated opponent’s body to walk away. Only to pause a second later, turn around, and blast Mercury in the leg.

“What the hell?!” Jaune and everyone else shouted in one form or another.

Jaune had become pretty good at reading people thanks to his observation training. That wasn’t something Yang did because she was angry or because she’d planned to hurt him.

She reacted to something.

Atlesian knights and several soldiers raced onto the arena at a frightening speed. They circled Yang who was looking back at them with confusion with guns raised.

“Ms. Xiao-Long, stand down!” one ordered.

“What? Why?” Yang asked.

Emerald raced up no more than a few seconds after the soldiers to check on her injured teammate.

“Mercury!” she cried.

“Why’d she do that?” Mercury asked, cradling his knee and rocking back and forth in pain. “Why’d she attack me?!”

Yang looked from the pair near her to the screens above which were replaying the scene of her attacking him.

“We won’t ask you again. Stand down!” The soldier ordered.

Jaune looked away from the girl as she submitted to the request. Instead, he took the time to confirm whether he was just seeing things.

Ruby had both her hands covering her mouth in disbelief. Weiss too wore an expression of complete shock. He wasn’t seeing things.

“I can’t believe she’d...” Blake muttered.

Jaune frowned. It was right for Blake to not believe that Yang could do something like that without reason. She was her partner. She should be able to see something else was going on. But from the way she looked and sounded, that wasn’t what she had meant.

Something was going on, Jaune knew it.

Not because he’d been on the lookout for signs of danger, though he had. He knew that there were unknown enemies around who wanted the maidens. Not because he’d managed to spot inconsistencies within Yang’s behavior either.

He knew, because Pyrrha had told him that neither of Mercury’s legs were real, yet there he was cradling his knee.

“Ruby.” Jaune sternly got her attention. “Take your team and go to Yang. She’s going to be very confused right now and she needs her friends. Make sure she knows that we’re on her side.”

“R-right...” Ruby replied.

“Jaune, she crippled that guy-”

Jaune put a hand up and interrupted Blake. “Something is going on right now that I can’t explain. Go listen to her side of the story, and make your own decision then if you must. If after all that you can’t trust your partner, then trust me. Yang didn’t do that for no reason.”

Jaune turned to walk away but was stopped by Nora grabbing his hand.

“Why are you so certain? What do you know that we don’t?” She asked.

Jaune clicked his tongue in frustration. He didn’t want his team spending their time worrying about what might happen to Pyrrha like he does most of the time. Right now though, he couldn’t delay it any further.

“Come with me and I’ll tell you. I’m going to need your help anyway.”

**/-/**

Jaune took Nora and Ren with him as they raced through the halls of the arena. He’d managed to convince them to give him 5 minutes of their time before he explained.

They’d split up and taken a different direction each. The goal was to find where Emerald had taken Mercury as fast as possible. Jaune could confirm with his own eyes whether the injury was faked that way.

He’d asked everyone to go room to room as fast as possible. That was how his wound had been treated, so it made sense to check their first.

Jaune didn’t bother with politeness. Every door was pushed open without so much as a knock, and if it was locked, Jaune busted the door down to check.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t manage to find any trace of Mercury or any other member from team CMSN.

“Any luck?” Jaune asked in a group conversation for his team.

“No.” Ren and Nora responded a few moments later.

“What’s going on?” Pyrrha asked.

_Shit. I didn’t think to let her know. She would have seen the fight and nothing else._

“Meet at the professor’s office ASAP.” Jaune messaged back.

He hoped that the lack of response after was nothing more than their agreement.

Jaune took the time to search the remaining quarter of the arena, moving as fast as his aura step would let him. When he found not even a single hint of their location, he started to suspect the worst.

_Either this is a total coincidence, or they’re involved somehow._

_There’s no reason for them not to be here taking care of their teammate._

“Where are you?” Pyrrha asked via scroll.

“Sorry, won’t be long,” Jaune replied. “Is the professor there?”

“Yes, he said he’s been here all day watching the matches,” Pyrrha replied.

She then took the time to send him a second message privately. “Nora and Ren are asking questions. I don’t know what to tell them.”

“Tell them as much as you can. I’m on my way now.”

Jaune boarded the first bullhead he could find and went back to Beacon. He didn’t have any real answers for anyone, especially not the professors. He just had to hope that he had enough to sway them into action.

After landing, Jaune raced to the CCT. He didn’t even bother entering it from the outside, knowing that the elevator would be slower anyway. Instead, using his aura step Jaune raced up the side of the tower. His control over the technique wasn't perfect though. He had to use the natural handholds to stabilize him when his aura control failed. Jaune vowed that if he got the chance, he would try to correct this weakness so that next time he wouldn't be as slow.

Reaching one of the windows, Jaune knocked. Surprisingly it was Ren who let him in.

“You couldn’t take the door?” he asked, just as surprised as everyone else at his impromptu appearance.

Jaune ignored him for the time being.

“Oz, what happened out there wasn’t Yang being psycho. Something is going on. Team CMSN is nowhere to be seen and-”

“Team CMSN have taken a flight back to Haven so that Mercury can be with his family for his foreseeable recovery.” General Ironwood explained.

“Why? For what reason?” Jaune asked. “Pyrrha, tell everyone what you said earlier. About his legs.”

“His legs?” Pyrrha asked, unsure of what to say. The realization set in quickly though. “You mean how they’re made of metal? Wait! If his legs are metal then why was he acting like he was injured?”

“Exactly! I think they planned that and did something to make Yang act that way. She was acting weird leading up to the fight too.” Jaune added.

“Impossible. The medics that took them away were my people. I’ve got the report right here stating that they saw his injuries with their own eyes.” The general countered.

“I trust Pyrrha more. How can you be certain that the medics didn’t get tricked the same way Yang did? What if someone from your side is a traitor and the report was faked?” Jaune turned to professor Ozpin. “Oz, I think this was an attempt at something bad. I’ve just got a feeling and things don’t add up.”

Professor Ozpin slowly sipped at a mug in the infuriating way that he does.

“To cause this much of a disturbance right now because of nothing more than a hunch is-”

Oz finally spoke, interrupting the general.

“I trust my student James. His intuition is good most of the time. Or more precisely, he has a talent for getting himself involved in things he shouldn’t. I suspect by sheer luck Jaune may have stumbled onto something. With that said, what do you suggest?” the professor asked.

“I-I don’t know. I don’t know why someone would do this. I think we should do the transfer now though. It feels like a distraction. The whole world is looking at Yang as a criminal right now. Who knows what they will do next while no one is watching them. We should do this now before things get worse.”

“Transfer? Who is ‘they’? Jaune you promised to explain what’s going on. Is this about us moving to Atlas?” Nora asked.

Jaune knew for a fact that he owed them the information now.

Without even waiting for permission from the professor, he explained.

“The move to Atlas is a cover. Pyrrha is going to... have someone’s aura given to her so she can acquire a special power of sorts. That’s a barebones explanation, I know. There’s a lot of things to consider about the whole situation. From what we understand, there are people out there who want to stop this from happening. They’ll kill to get what they want.”

“You mean like the White Fang?” Ren asked.

“Worse. But that doesn’t mean they’re not involved. They were there at the breach, and I’m pretty sure that was orchestrated by the same people.” Jaune replied.

“Mr. Arc has not been given as many details as may have been ideal. It was in everyone's best interest to limit the information shared until the transfer is complete.” Oz explained, helping Jaune get his point across. “Jaune, I’m going to make you an offer and you’re going to take it so long as your team agrees.”

Jaune stopped his frantic articulation and turned to the professor.

Oz continued. “I will take your team with me along with several of my most trusted right now. In exchange, I need you to share what you’ve learned with team RWBY-”

“Oz!? I can’t agree with this. Having the girl’s team know is one thing, but another unrelated team-” The general interrupted, only to be cut off himself.

“I’m not telling him to tell them everything. Jaune, I want you to get team RWBY and look for more information about this. Ms. Xiao-Long is the only witness who can tell us if anything strange was going on. If there is a plot underway, a dedicated team searching for clues will make a good distraction. Even if you don't find anything, it could keep Ms. Nikos safe.” Oz explained.

“And what do we tell the crowd of millions who saw that girl cripple another student after the match was called?” The general prompted.

“Tell them that she was disqualified and that the final match will begin in 4 hours as per the usual schedule. It was a tragedy and we will do our best to ensure that those involved learn their lesson.” Oz replied. “Jaune, your answer please?”

Jaune nodded.

“I’ll go now. I’ve got some ideas that I think they’ll be on board with.”

Jaune turned to run off but was stopped by Pyrrha. In his zeal to do something to help her, he’d almost forgotten what he was sending her to do.

“Don’t worry Pyrr. Ren and Nora will be with you and I won’t be far away. No matter what happens, we’ll work things out, okay?”

She didn’t look convinced.

“Nora. I know that I’ve been a pretty lousy leader lately. I left for weeks, kept secrets, and even lied to you. I’ll make up for all of that, but right now I need you to help me. Don’t let anything happen to Pyrrha, okay?” Jaune asked.

“You might be an idiot. But you’re our idiot, and Pyrrha is too. Of course, we'll help.” Nora replied.

“This team is the closest thing we’ve had to a family in years. If things are as serious as you’ve been making it seem, then we’ll be serious too.” Ren added, shocking everyone present with just how much he valued the team.

“Hear that Pyrr? You’ve got family right here with you. You don’t need me for this. It’ll be over before you know it, then we can all go out and laugh about it. Okay?”

Jaune couldn’t bring himself to wait for her response, and he left for the dorms.

**/-/**

Jaune knocked quietly on the door to team RWBY’s dorm. As much of a rush as he was in, they probably had enough to deal with without him busting down their door.

“Jaune?” Ruby asked upon opening the door.

“Hey, Ruby. How is everyone?” Jaune asked.

Ruby looked behind her for a second.

“It’s not great. We appreciate you coming and everything, but I think we need some time to ourselves.” Ruby replied.

She tried to shut the door on Jaune, but he forced his foot in to keep it open.

“Wait! Sorry, but I need to talk to everyone. I’ve got news from the professor, but more than that, I have some questions.” Jaune quickly explained.

“This isn’t the time for you to be sticking your nose into things Jaune.” Weiss coldly stated.

“Mercury lied about his injury!” Jaune shouted, trying to drown out any further protest.

Both Weiss and Ruby were shocked enough by the outburst to step back, letting Jaune push his way in.

“Yang, I need to hear it from you. What happened today?” Jaune asked.

“What do you mean he lied about his injury? I shot him right in the leg from close range while he had no aura.” Said Yang.

“His legs are made of metal. Even if you did shoot him, it shouldn’t have done the damage everyone thinks you did. Now, I need to know, what happened today?” Jaune asked for the second time.

Yang looked at her team, only to see them looking just as confused as her.

“From the start, he was saying a bunch of stuff about Blake. How he was going to check whether she had a tail next. I know you won’t believe me, I’ve seen the videos already so I know he-”

“I believe you. Keep going.” Jaune interrupted.

“Wait, you do?” Jaune nodded. “Oh... Um, well after that we fought. I don’t remember every detail, but the fight looks how I remember it. But when the fight was over I heard him get back up and run at me. I saw him attack me, so I attacked back.”

_That explains her behavior, and what she did._

“Blake, in your fight, did Mercury grab your bow by mistake or did it seem like he did it on purpose?” Jaune immediately asked.

“I don’t know?” she replied.

“Did he grab your hair or ears or anything?”

“No, just the bow. Jaune what’s this about?”

_Mercury knew what he was doing. That means he knew Blake was hiding something. But the only people who know about Blake’s secret is us and the professors and..._

“I think Mercury and team CMSN are up to something. I think the White Fang is involved. Someone has the power to make you see things. They used it on Yang to make her look like the aggressor, and they used it on a medic to get a false report out of them too I think. Pyrrha knows for a fact his leg is made of metal because she used her Semblance on it, so his injuries don’t make sense.” Jaune tried to explain, giving his best interpretation of the facts.

“What? But that doesn’t make any sense! Why would they do that, what’s the point?” Ruby asked.

“I don’t know. But I think the White Fang is involved. There’s no other way for Mercury to have known about Blake’s ears. I think the breach was something similar too. It was part of some big plan to create chaos. The only thing I don’t know is why.” Jaune lied. He had a very good idea of why. He just couldn't say.

“Oh god... It’s Adam, isn’t it? He said that I wouldn’t be safe anywhere. That he would take everything from me. This is just him trying to do that. Yang, I’m sorry this is-”

“It’s not your fault.” Yang interrupted before Blake could get too wrapped up in her train of thought.

“Yang’s right. Adam’s a strong fighter. But from what I know, he wouldn’t be able to do this, not even with his team helping him. In all your time with the White Fang did you know of anyone with those kinds of abilities?” Jaune asked.

Blake shook her head.

“Wait... Didn’t we fight someone who could make illusions? Yang, you said she was there on the train in Mountain Glenn, right?” Ruby asked.

“Yeah, she was. But she’s never shown that she can do that sort of thing. Her illusions shatter when they end and everyone can see them. If she used her Semblance on me, you all would have seen it too.” Yang explained.

“Still, it’s a good point. It’s not just the White Fang. Roman Torchwick and team CMSN are in on this too in some way or another. Maybe if we can find one of them, we can get a clue?” Jaune suggested. “What happened to Roman and the girl on the train? I never saw them during the breach.”

“They bailed. I used my dust to save us from the crash, but I saw the girl take him and jump off the side before disappearing.” Weiss explained.

_There’s no chance we’re going to track them down in time then._

“Jaune, you said you had a message from the professors right?” Yang asked as Jaune worked through his options.

He nodded, “Yeah. Look, I believe you didn’t do anything wrong, and I think the professors are on your side too. But it’ll take longer to get the rest of the world on the same wavelength. They’ve decided the best thing to do would be to disqualify you and keep the crowd calm. Sorry.”

Yang sighed. “It’s fine. To be honest I was expecting expulsion or something worse. It’s a shame, but I can deal with it.”

Jaune was relieved to see that Yang was taking this all fairly well.

“So what do we do now?” Blake asked. “Surely we aren’t going to just sit and wait for their next move.”

“No, definitely not that. There are still a few things we can do yet. My team is busy at the moment with something related, so I need you guys to help me.” Jaune replied.

“Whatever it is, we’ll do it,” Ruby answered and her team collectively nodded in agreement.

“Thanks. In that case, here’s the plan. Vale itself is too big to investigate ourselves. I think we should split up and try to monitor the coliseum and Beacon itself. Keep your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary.” Jaune explained.

“I’ll go with Jaune,” Ruby stated. “Blake, Weiss, Yang, you three take the coliseum.”

They each nodded.

“Okay. I suspect that they’ll try to do something for the final match too, so we need-”

“I nearly forgot! Jaune, you can’t let your partner fight the next match!” Ruby suddenly shouted.

“What why not?” Jaune asked.

“Because Penny is-” Ruby stopped herself.

_She’s what?_

“Look. You said earlier that you wouldn’t be surprised if the match order was rigged right? Blake and Mercury, Mercury and Yang, you and Pyrrha. Well, I’m telling you that if you’re right, which I think you might be, that this match is all part of that. If Pyrrha fights Penny, I think something bad is going to happen. I made a promise not to say any more than that but please, you have to tell her.”

Jaune frowned at the implication.

_If they do have the ability to rig the matches, then that means they’ve got more power than I thought._

“I don’t think I can ask her, either of them, to just quit. Whatever it is they think is going to happen can’t be that much worse than the upset that would be caused. If their goal is to make a distraction, then getting the entire crowd upset will work for that. Pyrrha and Penny need to fight, we just need to stop their plan from working.” Jaune replied.

“Then... Then ask Pyrrha not to use her Semblance. If she does, she’ll kill Penny.”

“What?!” everyone present simultaneously shouted.

“Does she have a pacemaker or something?” Jaune asked.

“’Or something’, yeah. I can’t explain, but I’m serious. If they have to fight fine, but Pyrrha can’t use her Semblance on Penny under any circumstances.” Ruby urged.

“Fine, fine.” Jaune relented as he pulled out his scroll.

At the end of the day, he knew it was up to Pyrrha to decide. Even then, he figured he could ask and explain what Ruby had said.

Not expecting a response, he put his scroll away.

“Are we ready then?” Yang asked.

Jaune nodded.

“3 hours, before the final match. We all meet up at the arena. Good luck everyone.”

**/-/**

Jaune and Ruby started by reinvestigating the Beacon CCT. If someone was going to rig the matches, they would do it using the largest computer network in the kingdom.

Jaune had to throw his weight around a little bit to get inside and have a technician show them around. One phone call to Oz was all it took, but that in itself took time. And in the end, it hadn’t even proved useful.

The CCT tech specialist showed them every routine and manual virus scan they’d done this month. None of them had revealed a thing. As far as he was concerned, the only way a virus was on these machines, was if they were made by the best engineer in Remnant. That or they were put there by the headmaster himself.

“What now?” Ruby asked.

“I’m not sure. We could check their dorm room for clues? It’ll be a bit suspicious of us, but we can do it anyway.” Jaune answered.

“What about team CFVY?” Ruby asked.

“What about them?”

“Coco and Fox fought Mercury and Emerald and lost, right? Maybe they know something.”

_Maybe..._

“Sure, why not. You go find them, I’ll check their dorms. Message me if you need me.”

Ruby nodded and sped off using her Semblance.

Jaune activated text-to-speech on his scroll and sent a message to the other team.

“Any luck yet?”

“None. We caught two people acting a bit shady but when we pushed them for info they admitted they were trying to sneak off somewhere to... well... nothing strictly illegal.”

“Right.”

Jaune immediately switched to messaging his team.

“How are things going?”

Jaune forwarded the message to the professor for good measure.

“It was terrible. It was over quickly, but Pyrrha looked like she was in agony the whole time.” Nora responded.

_Shit._

“Ms. Nikos is through the worst of it now. She is currently unconscious, and there’s no telling when she wakes up. Until she does, we can’t know for certain. I've left her to rest while I do some legwork of my own.” The professor wrote back.

Jaune regretted not being able to be with her for it. Even if he couldn’t have done anything to stop the pain, he felt guilty for having let her go through it without him. Even now he had to fight the temptation to give up the search and find where she was resting to be there for when she woke up.

Jaune arrived at the dorm that he remembered being the one Cinder told him to visit if he ever wanted to see her.

_I guess she can’t be too upset. She did say ‘whenever’._

Jaune hacked through the lock on their dorm room door and pried it open. He was sure that they would get a notification informing them of what he’d done. Maybe that would blow enough hot air up their backsides to coax them out of hiding. Either way, he got straight to work trashing the room.

Jaune spared no time trying to carefully remove the drawers or sort through them one by one. He pulled the drawer out, dumped its contents on the bed, and tossed everything out of the window one by one.

When the drawers were emptied, the closets were next. Articles of clothing were turned inside out and tossed away. Even the bed itself was upturned so Jaune could search underneath. The only thing left was a small table in the corner of the room upon which sat a small chess set.

Out of spite of not having found anything, Jaune pushed it off the table and sat down.

_Okay. This was a bust. Of course, they wouldn’t just leave anything-_

Despite the board having hit the floor and the pieces being scattered, there was one piece still in place.

Jaune picked it up and observed it more closely.

The black queen was firmly held to the board, not wobbling in the slightest when he shook it. It would however jiggle slightly when directly interacted with.

Jaune turned the piece clockwise and was shocked when a small compartment popped out of the side.

Opening it fully, Jaune withdrew a small slip of notepaper that read:

_“To whichever one of Ozpin’s little toy soldiers is reading this, congratulations. While your actions will not save the life of the fall maiden, you will at least die knowing you did better than most. Whether through luck or skill, you have done well to get this far. That kind of talent should be rewarded, and I am more generous than most. 0491 570 006_ _”_

She’d even signed the letter with a kiss print.

Jaune was furious.

While Jaune and his friends were out there busting their asses trying to find and stop them, she was gloating.

Jaune immediately rang the number. He didn’t expect to get anything out of it, but he needed to tell them exactly where to stick their generosity.

“Hello, Jaune.” The sultry voice of Cinder answered.

_Wait, what? How did she know it was me?_

“Your silence is awfully telling Jaune. Did you think we weren’t keeping an eye on things just because we weren’t around? You can quit that little search of yours by the way. You won’t find anything until it’s too late.” She mocked.

“Why the hell are you doing this? What do you possibly have to gain from all this?”

“Oh, you know what I plan to gain from all this. The question is, what can you gain? I was not being dishonest when I said talent should be rewarded. Mercury and Emerald were the same. Diamonds in the rough, ripe for the taking. I’d be willing to take you as well Jaune, especially with that Semblance of yours.”

“How do you know so much? We’ve talked once, and I never even had my Semblance then.”

Jaune looked around the room. There were no cameras that could have revealed he was the one in the room right now.

“Is that a no? Shame. Though I can’t say I expected any different. Your ambition is strangled by your preconception that you must strive to do ‘the right thing’. Ironically it was that kindness that made you so easy to exploit.” Her voice dripped confidence. She saw no reason to be cautious, even when talking with an enemy.

“What are you talking about?” Jaune asked.

“I know for a fact that you are aware of our ability to make people see things. Did you not realize that we could have used that ability on you? That little sparring match, it wasn’t for something as pointless as a tournament match. It was to get close to you, Jaune. Without even realizing it, you became my perfect little mole.” She laughed. “While we sparred it was incredibly easy to bug your scroll and listen in on your every conversation. I can’t say Emerald enjoyed listening in on you both last night. I however very much enjoyed hearing that your partner was the next maiden and that she was unconsci-”

Jaune threw his scroll on the ground, shattering it into pieces.

_She knows everything!_

Jaune raced out the door, not caring for what kind of damage he was causing in his wake.

_I’m pretty sure Oz wouldn’t take her to the regular MedBay. There is too much risk, it’s too public. There must be something prepared below._

Once he reached the elevator, Jaune’s anxiety spiked. At least while he was moving his body he was distracted from his panic by the burning in his legs and lungs. Now though, he had nothing to do but wait.

_Once I get down there, I need to borrow a scroll and let Ruby and her team know what has happened. Then we need to get everyone out of here. Cancel the festival, forget all of it. As soon as that’s done we can get on a ship with Atlas and get out of here._

After what felt like an eternity, the doors opened revealing the long hallway. Jaune sped down the corridor, keeping his sight locked on the machinery in the distance. He could see people which was a good sign.

As he grew closer he could make out the general standing guard over the unconscious body of Pyrrha. Nora and Ren were sat in chairs alongside her.

Thank god.

“Guys we need to leave. I think the enemy knows about this location. She bugged my scroll and has been listening in on my conversations. I bet she’d be able to track it with GPS too. Even if Pyrrha isn’t awake yet, we can transport her somewhere safe.” Jaune swiftly explained.

Nobody responded.

Nobody even moved to look at him.

That is, nobody except the general.

“Jaune, I think it’s time we had a little chat.”


	46. Revelation II

“Jaune, I think it’s time we had a little chat.” The general stated.

The moment he spoke, Jaune’s whole body froze.

Jaune wouldn’t say he was intimately close to the feeling, but he had shaken it off more than once. Paralysis fueled by fear, like a deer in the headlights.

Jaune barely managed to realize the ability for what it was and try to resist it with his willpower.

“Ah-ah!” The general warned, pulling out a handgun and aiming it at Pyrrha’s head. “Your partner here is unconscious and can’t generate an aura. Be a good little soldier and follow orders.”

When Jaune obliged, the general put his gun away once more.

Jaune could feel that while it caused him no physical pain, this wasn’t something he would be able to escape easily. This was focused, concentrated. He would have to at least be capable of matching the general’s power to break free.

“I suppose the secret is out now, though your friends here have known for a little while already. There’s no need for this anymore.” The general idly spoke to the room.

He reached down to his gloveless hand and removed a thin silver band from one of his fingers. The moment he did, the space above his head wobbled like a mirage.

Where it had once read ‘Paladin’, it now reads ‘Blackguard’.

“Let me start by saying that I never wanted it to come to this. If you had just kept your noses clean, she would have killed the previous fall maiden. You could have all run away to fight another day. It was never my intention to get any students involved in this where I could avoid it.”

Jaune felt the ability to move return ever so slightly. Just enough to move his lips to talk and wiggle his fingers, but not enough to break free.

“Nora… Ren… Are you okay?” Jaune grunted.

“Your friends are fine. They simply lack the resistance that you have and fell unconscious. I promise that if it is possible, they won’t be harmed.”

_‘If it’s possible’. ‘Never my intention’. He keeps acting like he doesn’t have a choice._

“All this time… You’ve been with them… Oz trusted you.” Jaune spat.

“Yes, he did. And I regret having to do this to a friend.” The general replied.

“Friends don’t… Betray friends.”

The general sighed. “The world isn’t so black and white Jaune. For years now I have done my best to help him where I was able. His vision and his dreams were ones I could get behind. It was his methods I could not agree with.”

“Murder and terrorism… Are fine though?”

“No, I… I didn’t mean that. You’re right, what I’ve done and what I will do is morally reprehensible. But it is the lesser of two evils. I do not blame you for your ignorance. You haven’t met her.”

_Her?_

“Did Ozpin ever tell you how I lost my arm? How I became this freak amalgam of flesh and steel?”

The general took Jaune’s silence as his answer.

“I suppose I don’t blame him for not sharing. It’s not something I’ve told most of my closest confidants.” The general stated.

He calmly removed his glove, revealing the fully robotic limb beneath.

“It wasn’t Grimm. I’ve fought A-tier guardians single-handedly. It wasn’t terrorists or criminals either. I’ve survived bombings and assassinations. Hell, I was barely older than you when I was given my first command and led my men deep into Grimm territory. A landscape where even the air you breathe is trying to kill you. No, what did this to me was a lone woman, named Salem.”

Jaune tried to conceal his aura, to use it without being seen. The mental paralysis struck too deep however and his control was nonexistent.

“This woman, I’d truly seen nothing like her before in my life. She carried no weapons and her skin was smooth and pale like she’d never seen a day’s hard work in her life. By all rights, she was the type of woman to fall victim to Grimm in an emergency. Too weak to even run properly. Yet despite her fragile appearance, she walked through that warzone without a care.”

Jaune felt the paralyzing fear weaken. But in its place, something cold and dark seeped into him. It gripped Jaune’s heart like a dead hand and squeezed. Rather than shock, Jaune felt hopeless.

“She made me an offer, which at first I refused. ‘Join her or die’. I thought she was overreaching and tried to deal with her. I was wrong. For the first time in my life, I learned to fear death. She tore me limb from limb with her bare hands. Aura meant nothing, dust was useless. You have to understand Jaune, I was level 120 at the time. It’s no exaggeration to say I’m one of the strongest people in Remnant and she broke me like a child breaks a toy.”

_Shit. He ‘was’ level 120. How strong must he be now? If I attack him, will it even do anything?_

“As I lay there bleeding out, she told me she’d be back if I survived. I knew she meant it too, for who could stop her. 3 years ago she appeared again, but with a new offer.”

_I need to work something out before it’s too late. Maybe rather than trying to ward off this ability, I should try to neutralize it instead._

“Join her, and Atlas would be spared. I had, of course, already met Ozpin by this point. I knew who she was and what she wanted to do. The complete eradication of human life was her only goal. I knew first-hand that she could not be stopped. The world has inched closer towards victory over the decades. We have earned the right to 10% of the planet by fighting the Grimm. But their queen is so much further beyond any ordinary beast. I had the chance to save countless lives. How many people do you think live in Atlas today? Millions.”

“But millions more… will die…” Jaune groaned.

“Yes. They will. But better to sacrifice the majority than the entirety.”

“Better to… Sacrifice none. Just because… you were weak… doesn’t mean we… can’t win.” Jaune replied.

“As much as I would like to agree with you, I can’t take that risk. Where I could, I helped Ozpin fight her. Anything that didn’t directly involve me, I offered my support. I was waiting for years to see his plans come to fruition but he does not fight to win. He fights to survive. Ozpin is losing, one battle at a time. If this situation itself isn’t proof of that to you, I don’t know what is. But trust me when I say there will come a day when the scales tip too far.”

As the general talked, Jaune tried to motivate himself, to hype his sense of bravery. He directed the flow inwards, rather than outwards and it worked, if only slightly. The effects of the general’s willpower within his body was weakened. Subtly from his position on the ground, Jaune wriggled his fingers.

“Let’s cut to business though, shall we?” The general said, interrupting Jaune’s concentration.

“What business?” Jaune replied.

_Shit, I still need to pretend to be affected or he’ll realize and tighten his defenses._

“When Ms. Nikos wakes up, she will participate in the final match, just as she had always been meant to.”

“What if she… refuses?” Jaune asked, pretending to strain.

As he talked, he slowly moved closer to Nora an inch at a time as the general paced. He needed to know whether he could protect his team or if he was going to have to do this alone.

“If she refuses, then I shall simply order Pyrrha to behave, using you as hostages. The stress would distract her during her fight and who knows what could happen then. I may even have to hurt one of you to prove I mean business.” The general flatly stated.

When Jaune was barely able to brush against one of her shoes with his foot, he tried to push his aura into her.

“Fine… When she wakes… I’ll tell her. Just promise… She’ll be safe.” Jaune requested.

“I’m sorry. You’re not going to be awake much longer. And… your partner is fated to die. The moment she became the maiden, my hands were tied. I can promise though that once the situation is under control, I will let you go unharmed. All of you.”

“Wait, wait!” Jaune urged as he felt the general’s sway over him grow.

Jaune desperately tried to resist. He pushed against the general’s willpower with his own.

You have unlocked the **[Aura of Courage]** Skill.

 **[Aura of Courage: Level 0]**   
Use your willpower to protect yourself and your allies from the effects of fear.   
Effect scales with aura used, level of Willpower, and level of Aura of Courage.   
Maximum range: 10ft

The paralysis disappeared for an instant and Jaune tried to push himself to his feet.

But just as fast as it had disappeared, it came back twice as strong. Jaune’s arms gave out underneath him, sending him crashing face-first to the ground once more.

“You’re one in a million Jaune. But I’ve been using these techniques for decades. Even my Semblance is engineered to make me the perfect wielder of these abilities. You never stood a chance.” The general somberly stated.

Jaune fell into unconsciousness.

**/-/**

Jaune awoke with a sudden start.

He jumped up, drawing his sword, and frantically looked around the room.

The bed that Pyrrha had been resting on was empty, the general was gone. Only Nora and Ren remained, still as unconscious as they had been.

How long has it been?

Jaune used his newly unlocked skill and let it wash over his teammates. They didn’t immediately stir, so Jaune helped himself to Ren’s scroll. The time read 3:50 pm.

_Shit, it’s already this late? Pyrrha’s match will start in no time._

Jaune offered a short apology under his breath before slapping Ren. He woke instantly.

“Do you know what happened?” Jaune asked.

Ren blinked, looking around the room and rubbing his cheek. “The general-”

“Good, you know. He’s gone and so is Pyrrha. Wake Nora and get yourselves ready.” Jaune ordered.

Ren got to task waking up Nora in a more gentle manner. Meanwhile, Jaune used his scroll to message Ruby.

“Can’t trust Atlas. Ironwood is a traitor. Have to stop Pyrrha’s match. On our way. Jaune.”

Jaune then forwarded that message to the professor.

Looking back, Nora and Ren were up and grabbing their weapons.

“The general was adamant about Pyrrha fighting in her match. We’re going to either stop it entirely or interfere with whatever they have planned. Got it?” Jaune asked.

“Jaune, are you okay? We’re with you, but you look…” Nora asked with concern.

“I’ll be fine once I know we’re all safe. Until then, you’ll just have to ignore how I must look.” Jaune replied.

_Ignoring the nap I was forced to take, I’ve been racing around nonstop panicking for over an hour now. I must look like crap._

“We understand. Let’s go.” Ren stated.

They each nodded.

They sprinted down the hallway, reaching the elevator in under a minute. Unfortunately, the ride was considerably slower. Slow enough that Ruby had time to text him back.

“Jaune? What happened to you? I’ve been messaging you for hours and you weren’t responding. I found out that it wasn’t Mercury with the Semblance that got Yang. Coco saw things during her fight against Emerald. Mercury was on the other side of the arena busy fighting Fox. What do you mean Ironwood is a traitor? He just finished a speech with the professor.” Ruby said with eight rapid-fire messages.

Jaune knew he didn’t have the time for a full explanation. Even as slow as their ascent was, it wouldn’t last much longer. He had to say something to get her focused.

“If you can’t stop this match from happening your friend is going to die.” Jaune handed the scroll back to Ren. “Here, it’s yours.”

Ren took it and put it away.

“Shouldn’t you keep it? You’re using it to stay in touch with the others, right?” he asked.

“I was, but I'd prefer you all to keep in touch with each other. I’ll not deprive my teammate of that just because I was stupid enough to fall for the enemy’s tricks. If I need to contact you all, I'll find a way.” Jaune replied.

“What trick?” Nora asked.

Jaune explained how they had bugged his scroll and used it to monitor everything that they had gotten up to.

“You’re not stupid for trying to be nice to someone you had no reason to suspect,” Nora reassured.

Jaune didn’t bother arguing.

“So I know we’re going to try to stop the match. But what is the actual plan?” Ren asked.

Jaune had one. It was probably the stupidest plan he’d had since self-immolating, but it was a plan nonetheless.

“Since the general is involved, he probably has his guards positioned. No doubt ‘to make sure nothing like the last match happens again’. Oz knows about the general now, so since he hasn’t done anything, it’s probably to avoid a diplomatic incident. We can’t pick a fight with Atlas, even if we have the right.” Jaune explained.

“Right, but what can we do though?” Nora asked.

They finally reached the ground floor and sped out of the building.

“Well… ‘we’ can’t pick a fight with Atlas. But nobody would be surprised if the White Fang did. Make enough noise to raise an alarm and blame it on them. Get everyone to evacuate to avoid the threat of a terrorist attack and then regroup.” Jaune finished.

“You hear that boss? This guy is unbelievable. First, he kills one of us, then he picks a dozen fights, and now he wants to blame his petty vandalism on us.”

The trio stopped in their tracks upon hearing the comment. Just to the side of the building were three of the White Fang’s soldiers, Adam’s specialists. Jaune was certain the fourth was nearby too with his scope honed in on their position.

“Nora, Ren, get going,” Jaune ordered.

“You think we’re just going to-” The closest White Fang member started.

“I’m the one you want right?” Jaune pointed at the one wielding an axe. It seemed larger than before. “I’m just making your job easier by splitting my team up. Use that brain of yours for a second and realize that once you’re done with me, you can chase down my teammates.”

“That’s the most obvious trap I’ve ever heard of.” The woman with the oversized shotgun flatly stated.

“You’re probably right. But so is he. We can either fight them as a group or pick them off one at a time.” The axe-wielding Faunus replied.

“See? We’re all in agreement.” Jaune said with a fake smile. “Get going you two.”

“Jaune…” Nora started.

“Let’s go, Nora. Jaune knows what he is doing.” Ren replied, dragging Nora by the wrist.

_Thanks, Ren. Go keep my partner safe._

Jaune watched them leave, as did his opponents. It seemed everyone wanted to be sure that there wouldn’t be any interruptions.

“So… It’s not too late for you guys to turn yourselves in you know? As far as I’m aware, your crimes aren’t even that bad. A bit of trespassing, assault, some theft, and admittedly some attempted murder. I’d even be willing to vouch for you guys. You can still turn over a new leaf.” Jaune said.

If he could end this without fighting he would, but he was only offering them this one chance. He didn’t have time for anything more.

“Cute. Now that he knows he’s going to die, he’s trying to negotiate.” The woman laughed. “Too bad for you, we’re calling the shots-”

Jaune had heard enough.

He was sure they’d seen his fight considering how widely televised it was. They hadn’t realized just how quick he could move if he wanted to though.

Jaune dashed through the group straight towards the woman who had taunted him. She was one of two fighters who used a ranged weapon as her primary. Plus he was willing to bet that even terrorists had a level of chivalry to them.

Jaune brought Crocea Mors across the aura on her chest. The fact that she had reacted in time was proof that this group wasn’t to be underestimated.

As she backstepped from Jaune in surprise, he circled her, placing the edge of his blade against her neck. He grabbed the tip with his shield hand and pulled it tight, sparking her aura, slowly draining it.

“Let’s try this again. Give up now or things are going to end badly for you.”

Jaune didn’t want to hurt anyone where he could avoid it. Knocking her out would be preferable. But if he had learned one thing, it was that the professor’s advice those many months ago was true.

Oz had warned that there would come a day when Jaune would have to take a life again. That it would once again be a choice between that of a criminal’s or his teammates’.

This time though, Jaune would be ready. If he could spare them, he would. But he didn’t have time to waste.

While his opponents were frozen in thought, Jaune activated his aura sight. If the sniper is here, being able to see the bullets once they left that sphere of non-detection would keep him safe.

Sure enough, the shot came. Based on its trajectory, it was aimed center-mass, probably to knock Jaune away. Unfortunately, that also placed the bullet at chest height for the woman who Jaune pushed in the road.

The round ripped through what little aura she had left before boring through her chest. It thudded uselessly into Jaune’s chest plate on the other side. He’d barely even taken a few points of damage.

Jaune spared a second for the life of the woman that he released from his grasp. Then another for her blood which was now splattered over his armor.

_No turning back now._

Jaune drew his shield and fended off a heavy blow from the axe-wielding terrorist who rushed at him. With a slash of his sword, he forced the barbarian to keep his distance, if only for a moment.

At that moment, Jaune broke away. With his speed that far exceeded theirs, Jaune dashed in the direction the shot had come from. Straight for the top of the inner ring of colonnades that circled Beacon's main avenue.

When he spotted a second shot, Jaune sidestepped, not wasting the time or effort to deflect or block. With his aura step, Jaune had little issue climbing the wall to reach him. It was far shorter than the CCT had been and with a simpler structure.

Semblance or no Semblance, the sniper was now right in front of Jaune. Wherever he aimed the large barrel of his rifle, Jaune would be ready to intercept.

His opponent fired two rounds, using the recoil to adjust his aim from hip to shoulder.

Jaune caught both with the flat of his sword, flicking them to his side and letting them both fly off behind him.

Jaune covered the remaining distance in a single bound. He brought his sword down on the man who in turn blocked with his rifle. It was large and sturdy enough to withstand the blow, but he lacked the strength to maintain his defense.

Jaune’s sword pushed through his guard, cutting deeply into his opponent’s aura, shattering it. The force of the blow pushed him backward.

He stumbled off the edge as he lost his footing and hit the ground with a sickening crunch a few seconds later.

For the second time in only a few minutes, Jaune’s actions had taken the life of another person, if indirectly.

From his position atop the colonnade, Jaune watched the others scramble below him. He technically had the opportunity to outrace them and get away. His on foot running speed was better than most and certainly better than theirs.

He knew however that leaving them behind would only create issues later. They hadn’t given up after any of their fights prior, they just kept coming back with more training each time.

Jaune's first two were accidents formed in self-defense. Whatever happened now was Jaune choosing to carry on the fight.

Jaune raced down the side of the closest column, sword at the ready. Once he was within a few meters, he jumped at them from above.

Unlike the first two though, they were ready for him and specialized in melee combat.

The barbarian caught Jaune’s sword with the underside of his chainsaw. As a result, Jaune was thrown to the side as his sword caught in the teeth of the chain.

Jaune blocked an overhead axe strike with his shield, the force drove him to the ground. As soon as his feet touched, he rolled away.

“This ends now.” Jaune threatened as he regained his stance.

“You’re right.” The barbarian replied, activating his rage.

“It does.” The lumberjack agreed, transmuting his flesh into wood with his Semblance.

Time to see just how effective this can be.

Jaune condensed his aura and experimentally increased his strength to its usual limit. Jaune could feel the strength that he was familiar with. He could also feel that there was room for more. Jaune slowly pumped more aura into his muscles until he reached what he presumed to be his new limit.

His sword felt light as a feather, like he was swinging a toy replica. When he had fought Pyrrha to a near-draw just this morning, he had peaked around 175 strength. Now though, a quick calculation placed him over 560.

Though he was eager to see what this kind of power could do, Jaune waited for one of his opponents to strike first. The lumberjack, who had always been the most devoted with his hatred for Jaune, obliged.

Jaune waited for the blow to come down on him before stepping just to the side and bringing his sword up.

Jaune had twice tried to break the man’s weapon, but it was made of steel and channeling aura. He knew of a much weaker spot to aim for and he wouldn't be held back by sympathy anymore.

Jaune separated the Faunus’ hands from his arms at the wrist, just like he had been taught. The aura and wood-like armor only managed to create a slight drag on Jaune’s movement.

“Aaaaaargh!” The lumberjack cried, falling to his knees in pain.

Jaune felt a tightness in his chest. He forced himself to ignore it though and faced his final opponent. He could process his emotions when this was all over.

Jaune raised his guard, ready to face the remaining Faunus.

“I-I surrender. We’ve only ever seen our leader pull off something like that, and only after charging up.” The man declared, taking a step away from Jaune.

“Am I supposed to just believe that? I already gave you a chance and you tried to kill me.” Jaune replied.

He took a step forward and the other man threw his weapon to the ground and took three steps back.

“Please!” the man begged. "I don't want to die."

Jaune frowned. This man was prepared to take lives but not give his own. Still, as much as Jaune had been prepared to do both, killing an opponent in cold blood was different.

“Tell me what the White Fang are planning then. If you do that, I’ll let you go.” Jaune bluffed. He was going to let him live either way, but this guy didn’t know that.

“It’s the same plan as the breach. We’ve been capturing Grimm and nightmare stones. This time we have loaded up Bullheads in the Forever Fall forest. When we get the signal, the final fight's ending, we were going to release them in the town. There's not even enough Grimm to do any real damage, just enough to create a scene. Adam wants to hunt down those girls who interrupted our plan from last time and needed an opening.” The man visibly swallowed. “I swear that’s all I know. We weren’t even supposed to be here, but we overheard a conversation that you would. Everyone else is still out there in the forest.”

_Shit. If that’s true, then this is about to be worse than I thought. Evacuating everyone won’t do anything. Even stopping Pyrrha's fight will just end up kickstarting it all sooner._

Jaune flicked his blade free of blood as best he could and sheathed his sword. “Go turn yourself in, and tell the police everything you just told me. Tell them that you made a deal with Beacon and that the professor needs to know.”

The man nodded, eager to show that he would do whatever was needed to keep his head on his shoulders.

If Jaune wanted to stop this, he would need his team, perhaps team RWBY too. It wouldn’t end with this match, they needed to stop all of it.

Jaune made his way straight for the bullheads.

“Take me straight to the coliseum.” Jaune requested.

The pilot stared back at Jaune for several seconds.

“What happened to you kid, you’re covered in blood.”

“It’s not mine, just get moving,” Jaune shouted.

“That’s what I was worried about…” the pilot muttered under his breath.

**/-/**

As the ship descended, Jaune could see signs of his team’s arrival. Several Atlas guards lay unconscious around the area.

_I don’t see any more guards around. Nora and Ren must have made it through._

Jaune raced into the building, following the signs of conflict.

Nora had taken her role seriously. It looked like a natural disaster had blown through the hallways. Jaune was about to go down that hallway when he heard the sounds of fighting from another direction.

Moving toward it, Jaune was able to overhear a conversation from just around the next corner.

“Hahaha! It’s so freaky when you do that Em. She can’t hear or see a thing other than what you want her to. I swear I’d have so much fun if I had your Semblance for a day.”

“Shut up idiot. We have a job to do. Stop distracting me and finish her off so we can go deal with the others. Cinder will be pissed if we mess up.”

“Nah, we have an uninvited guest. We’re gonna have to take this nice and slow.”

_Shit._

Jaune hadn’t been trying to move quietly and even if he had his metal boots on the flooring was anything but quiet.

Knowing that he’d been caught, Jaune didn’t bother trying to sneak up and instead rounded the corner to face them.

As he’d thought he would based on their voices, Jaune came face to face with Mercury and Emerald. Behind them, Ruby was fighting an intense battle with the air itself. Jaune had no doubt she was being forced to see an image of an opponent that just wasn’t there.

“Ruby! Snap out of it!” Jaune shouted.

“She can’t hear you dumbass,” Mercury said with a smirk. “She doesn’t even know you’re here.”

Jaune knew he was right because Ruby didn’t flinch or deviate from her fight at all.

_Guess I’ll have to break the illusion the hard way then._

Jaune activated his full power enhancement again. He dashed forward and slashed at Emerald just as he had the White Fang earlier.

“Woah now! Not so fast!” Mercury shouted as he suddenly appeared by Jaune’s side.

Jaune could scarcely believe it after seeing it. Mercury had gotten to him before he'd finished his first step.

He planted his metal shin into Jaune’s knee, causing his leg to buckle. Jaune tripped as his momentum carried him forward into the wall nearby.

“You know for a guy who seems to have everyone’s attention, you’re kind of a chump. You even stormed in here covered in blood like a badass. Do better this time, please.” Mercury taunted.

He watched casually as Jaune picked himself back up.

“I mean, come on. What makes you so special? A couple of overlapping skills that make you stronger than normal? The observational skills of someone maybe a little above average? Nah. I think you’ve just skated by, having everyone underestimate you just enough to get by.” He paused for a second. “You’ve even got me doing it. Damn, maybe you are good!”

_He’s fast enough to react to me at my top speed. He seems to be pretty proud of his observation skills so he is probably able to read ahead. I telegraph my moves too much at that speed._

_If that's the case..._

Jaune walked slowly, sword held down with the tip swinging like a pendulum beside him. Mercury smirked and just walked backward at the same pace.

“Mercury. Use your brain a little.” Em warned.

He looked over his shoulder and realized how much ground he had given up already. Jaune could cover the ground between him and Emerald in a single leap if he wanted to.

But he didn’t.

Jaune continued walking at his controlled pace. He kept his eyes locked on the silver-haired boy all the while.

“Enough joking, you think moving slower is going to change things? I was faster than you before, I’m even faster than you now.” Mercury arrogantly spat.

He crossed the distance remaining and launched a high kick into Jaune’s head.

There was a loud thud and Jaune’s right ear was brought almost to his shoulder. But that was all.

Jaune had condensed his aura and funneled it into projecting an aura shield. Though Jaune hadn’t planned for it, the additional benefit of a condensed aura shield was its toughness. It simply didn’t give as much as regular aura did, functioning more like a solid barrier than a fluid.

His strength was boosted too and he had cushioned and resisted the force of Mercury’s blow with his neck.

By the end of it, despite how fast Mercury could move, the damage itself was minimal. Neither his aura nor brain was disturbed enough to even register. It hadn’t even stopped Jaune from taking another step forwards.

Mercury flew into overdrive. He kicked Jaune in the stomach, the knees, the temple, and the jaw. He even tried to kick Jaune’s groin at one stage. That one had hurt the most. Even then, Mercury hadn’t managed to stop Jaune from pacing forwards until he was two paces from Emerald.

“This isn’t fun anymore. You're not even fighting back.” Mercury coldly stated. His smirk was replaced by a look of utter disinterest.

Mercury’s legs began to whir as he brought both feet off the ground and planted them into Jaune’s face. Jaune could feel the heat from the machinery as they loaded and fired from point-blank range.

The explosion hurt and forced him to take several steps backward. The heat itself was tolerable, more so than he'd expected it to be. Mercury didn't use fire dust for his explosions and smokescreens. Instead, Jaune realized that the white smoke had been steam.

Still, despite the pain, Jaune had something to be happy about.

“What the fuck?” Mercury reacted.

Jaune had one of Mercury’s legs trapped in his free hand.

“Tell me if you remember this one.” Jaune finally taunted back.

With all of his improved strength, Jaune slammed him into the wall on his right. It crumbled completely from the force and gave way. Mercury’s aura only shimmered slightly as he had used his hands to smother the impact.

With his second swing, he performed a full 360-degree spin. The spin built centrifugal force forcing his arms to flail above his head. Jaune slammed him into the ground and dragged him across the stonework into the corner of the wall on his left. Mercury wore most of the force with his face.

Jaune wanted to get some revenge for the petty insults from before. He wanted to ask what Mercury thought of him now. Jaune instead chose to bite down on that urge and focus on eliminating his opponents.

Jaune swung Mercury at his partner. She barely spotted his approach from her peripheral as she controlled Ruby.

She dodged his strike by jumping out of his reach.

“Jaune?” Ruby suddenly asked before disappearing entirely.

Emerald surrendered her control over Ruby. Instead, she was now focusing on keeping Jaune preoccupied. He was surrounded by 7 different versions of Mercury, all ready to attack.

“Correct me if I’m wrong here guys. But your illusions don’t actually do anything right?” Jaune asked. “I can still feel your partner’s leg in my hand which means I know none of this is real.”

For good measure he slammed Mercury once more, confirming that he could feel the force of the impact.

The scenery snapped back to normal. Jaune was greeted with the sight of Ruby attacking Emerald with her scythe.

Jaune cataloged the fact that her illusions dropped when she moved. If she managed to evade Ruby, it was knowledge that could easily come in handy.

“Ruby, keep her moving. She has to stand still while maintaining her Semblance. I’ll finish here.” Jaune said, gesturing with Mercury’s body.

Ruby nodded and chased her around a corner.

Looking at Mercury, Jaune could see a decent head wound had opened up from his last swing. His aura must have run out. Mercury barely even struggled, probably completely unconscious at this point. Compared to the fight he had put up before, he was practically lifeless.

Jaune’s heart skipped a beat, fluttering enough to make Jaune's knees wobble. Jaune ignored it once more. Mentally, he was able to process this and live with himself, it seemed his body just needed to catch up.

Jaune placed the tip of his sword on Mercury’s neck, just above where his zipper opened to bare skin.

“Oh Jaune, won’t you be so kind as to let go of my teammate?” A sultry voice asked from behind.

Jaune turned, expecting to see Cinder. Instead, he was face to face with a short young woman with pink and brown hair. In her hand was a scroll with a video of Cinder wearing an intricate red dress instead of her usual clothes.

“You said it right? Kindness is my weakness. I don’t think I’m feeling so kind anymore.” Jaune replied.

The young girl feigned laughter in silence. Her hand rose to cover her mouth and her shoulders bounced.

“No, I suppose you’re not. Perhaps you're more cut out for working with us than I'd first thought. Still, we each have something the other person wants, so how about a trade?” Cinder mouthed off, just as arrogantly casual as ever.

“What could you have that I’d ever be interested in?” Jaune spat.

“Jaune come now… I know you better than most, we’ve spent so much time together after all.” She teased. “There’s your team which I let you keep as a sign of good faith. Then there’s team RWBY who are busy running around chasing shadows. There’s your family of course, but we both know they’re safe and sound across the country. And finally, there are your professors.”

Cinder accentuated her little piece by stepping away from the camera. As she did, the unconscious bodies of both Ms. Goodwitch and Oz were revealed. They were bound to chairs within the cafeteria.

“How did you-” Jaune asked.

“Simple. I’ve had them for a few hours. The Ozpin you think you saw up there with the general was just our little friend here. Say hi Neo.” The young girl waved and in a wave of energy, her body changed into that of the professor’s.

“Fine! You can have your little sadist back. Just let them go.” Jaune requested, tossing Mercury over to Neo.

One of his arms landed atop Neo’s shoes. She screwed up her face and kicked it away in disgust.

“Well that’s hardly fair, is it?” She asked with a smile.

Jaune gritted his teeth. “What do you want?”

“The Fall Maiden. If she survives her little match, you will send her to me. I’ll be waiting on top of the CCT in the good headmaster’s office. If she isn’t there within 10 minutes from the end of her match, I’ll have a good friend of ours finish them both off.”

Jaune frowned when she mentioned ‘a good friend’. He didn’t like the sound of what must be happening in the arena right now either.

“Curious are you? Well wait no longer, I don’t mind spoiling the surprise.” Cinder wagged a finger. A disgruntled Adam walked into frame. “Oh, and I believe he said something about bringing one ‘Blake Belladonna’ along with you to meet him. He looks a bit angry, so I wouldn’t test him.”

Seeing no way out of this situation, Jaune hesitantly nodded.

“I need to hear you say it Jaune. I believe you have a cute little catchphrase and everything.” Cinder further teased.

“I swear that I’ll bring Pyrrha to you, and Blake to Adam… And an Arc never goes back on his word.” Jaune felt any love he had for the phrase die with those words.

“I’m glad to hear it Jaune. And remember, the offer still stands if you want to be on the winning team.” She said before disconnecting.

The pink-haired girl hooked Mercury with the butt end of a parasol and dragged him away.

_What the hell do I do now…_

**/-/**

**Jaune Arc**

**Level 17 [+3]**

**Novice**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Strength: 30 (75)**

**Fortitude: 35 (88)**

**Dexterity: 23 (57)**

**Aura: 30/30 (100/100)**

**Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**Known Skills**

**[Observe]**   
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

 **[Construction: Level 0]**   
Reduced mistakes when performing construction or repair jobs.   
An innate understanding of structures comes with skill level.

 **[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)**   
Double all base attributes.   
Able to unlock all skills through training.   
No benefits from leveling.

 **Semblance: Aura Amp**   
Increase the effect of aura skills by condensing aura.   
Aura can be condensed x2(3.2) based on aura control.   
Aura consumption is increased by the current aura density multiplier.   
Effect of aura skills is increased by the current aura density multiplier.   
Aura skills can gain unique features at higher levels of aura density.   
Secondary pool of aura (70) can be used to refill or condense reserves.

 **[Aura Control: Level 6]**   
Able to feel and manipulate aura.   
All stats increased by 26%   
All Aura abilities are 60% more efficient.

 **[Aura Shielding: Level 4]**   
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 14(22) Damage   
Condensed aura shielding absorbs aura 20(32) % more efficiently.   
Condensed aura shielding mitigates impact forces by 50%

 **[Aura Channelling: Level 4]**   
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 14(22) % Increased weapon damage.

 **[Aura Healing: Level Max]**   
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.   
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.   
Recovery speed is equal to +150(240)% per aura/hr drained.   
Condensed aura healing heals twice as fast but consumes calories, stored glycogen, and muscle tissue to do so.

 **[Aura Awareness: Level 4]**   
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura.   
Additionally, within the same radius, you can observe the aura of all creatures within.  
Precision: Low.   
Maximum Radius: 100(160) cm.   
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter when using aura.

 **[Aura Emission: Level 5]**   
Disconnect your aura from its source and project it outwards.   
Aura Emission techniques cost 50% more aura.   
Aura Emission techniques weaken over distance. 5% reduction over 1(1.6) meters.   
Aura Slash: For each 1(1.5) points of aura used in this technique, deal base attack damage + base aura spent x0.6

 **[Aura Step: Level 5]**   
Channel aura through your feet into a surface to generate increased friction and force.   
Error margin : 5%

 **[Aura Concealment: Level 0]**   
Aura Recovery while aura is concealed +10%   
Internal aura skills efficiency increased by 10%  
Aura awareness while aura is concealed improved by 10%   
Concealed aura is harder to detect.

 **[Muscle Augmentation: Level 5]**   
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 15(22) % per aura point used.   
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.   
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 2xFortitude, injury can occur.   
Condensing aura increases the maximum limit and upkeep linearly. (6.4xFortitude and 3 aura/minute)

 **[Meditation: Level 8]**  
Aura Recovery Rate +180% while meditating.   
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

 **[Footwork: Level 9] (Passive)**   
Affects hit and dodge rate.

 **[Sword Skill: Level 9] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 90%   
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 9%   
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 45%

 **[Shield Skill: Level 7] (Passive)**   
Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 70%   
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 35%

 **[Hand to Hand Skill: Level 4] (Passive)**   
Increase damage with all unarmed attacks by 20%   
Increase hit rate with all unarmed attacks by 4%   
Increase unarmed defense efficiency by 20%

 **[Willpower: Level 1]**   
Force your will onto others through your aura.   
Can simulate emotion or even cause a variety of mental conditions in the target.   
Use of this skill is also the defense against this skill.

 **[Aura of Courage: Level 0]**  
Use your willpower to protect yourself and allies from the effects of fear.  
Effect scales with aura used, level of Willpower, and level of Aura of Courage.  
Maximum range: 10ft

 **[Heavy Strike]**   
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon’s weight.   
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon’s weight.   
Cooldown 1 second.   
Recharge 3 seconds.

 **[Leap Slam]**   
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.   
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.   
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.   
Current damage increase: 20%   
Current distance: 9 meters.   
Cooldown 1 second.

 **[Coup de grâce!]**   
A finishing blow to an injured opponent.   
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.   
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.   
Cooldown 3 seconds.   
Recharge 60 seconds.


	47. Destiny I

_What the hell do I do now?_

_Adam isn't the kind of opponent I can defeat. Even with help I don't know if we could do it._

"Jaune! Did Emerald come back this way?" Ruby shouted as she rounded the corner she had left from.

Jaune shook his head.

"Darn it! She gave me the slip."

"Forget about her, we have bigger concerns." Jaune said.

He explained the situation, but chose to leave the part about Pyrrha's involvement out. If getting her involved meant sending her to Cinder, he'd take the secret to the grave.

"We have to do something!" Ruby urged.

"Do we? Can we?" Jaune asked. "Do you really think it's a good idea to take Blake to Adam?"

_Or to send Pyrrha to Cinder...?_

"We'll be there too, don't forget. We fought him to a draw once before didn't we?" Ruby replied.

_Yeah, after I nearly died weakening him and with the help of someone who is working with the enemy._

"Besides, it's her decision to make, not ours. If Blake wants to do it, we have to support her no matter what." She added.

Faintly, Jaune heard rumbling coming from above. The crowd was getting riled up about something. Jaune was willing to bet it was the start of Pyrrha's match.

"Fine. You get everyone together. If they choose to try and fight Adam, I'll do what I can. I'm going to make my way to Pyrrha, you guys catch up." Jaune stated.

"Actually, maybe it would be easier if you contacted everyone. Mercury broke my scroll." Ruby replied.

Jaune sighed.

"Mine's broken too." Ruby didn't look convinced. "It is! Anyway, you're faster than I am. Once you find someone you can use theirs." Jaune suggested.

"They should make these scrolls harder to break huh? But okay, I'll get everyone and bring them up to the arena."

Jaune nodded.

"Thanks, Ruby."

Ruby burst into petals, bursting down a corridor at high speed. Jaune in turn made a beeline for the arena.

After a few seconds, Jaune was able to hear the cheers of the crowd and the sounds of combat. Jaune knew they couldn't be blamed for their ignorance. Still, he couldn't help but wonder how they would feel if they knew what was going on behind the scenes.

Jaune rounded one final corner, bringing him face to face with the competitor gateway. Standing in front of it were two Atlesian Knights.

"Jaune Arc identified. Stand down and submit for incarceration." The robotic foot soldiers droned upon sighting him.

Jaune slowed from a sprint to a swift march.

"Failure to comply will be met with force." The droids warned as they raised their weapons.

Jaune slowed again to a stop.

_I can't start a fight this close to the entrance. It could alert the crowd… or the general. I need to finish this in one move before they can react._

"Compliance noted." The robots stated as they lowered their weapons. "You will now be taken-"

When they had completely lowered their weapons and taken a step towards him, Jaune struck.

Jaune had once seen Qrow standing amongst a pile of robots just like this. He hadn't even drawn his weapon yet at that time. As such, Jaune knew that their durability couldn't compare to a huntsman. Jaune grabbed them both by their heads and crushed them together. The damage to the chassis was minimal, but the internal mechanisms were scrambled.

The crowd outside cheered. Jaune pushed the destroyed robots aside to finally see what was happening.

Pyrrha wasn't fighting like her usual self. She lacked all of her usual zeal and struggled to pull off any of her usual tricks. She was disarmed, yet she didn't bother trying to gain her weapon back, and just focused on dodging.

Jaune couldn't bear the sight of it.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted as loudly as he could.

Pyrrha startled and spun in his direction just in time to see him leap onto the platform.

"I don't remember falling for a girl who gives up this easily. I thought my girlfriend was way cooler than this." Jaune spat, seeking to fire her up.

"Mr. Arc has broken the rules and intruded on the arena mid-match. This will mean a disqualification for Ms. Nikos and more severe punishment-"

Jaune drowned out the rest of the announcement.

"Jaune, you shouldn't have come." Pyrrha stated when she finally wiped the slack-jawed expression off her face.

"Why because of the tournament? Screw the tournament Pyrrha, we have to go, now." I urged.

I have to get her out of here before it all blows up.

"No! Not that, if I don't keep fighting-" the words died in her throat as all the force fields dissipated.

The arena was no longer separated from the crowd, and the crowd was no longer separated from the sky.

"No no no! I'll keep fighting. I'll get him to leave, I promise, please don't do this!" Pyrrha screamed as she pushed Jaune away from herself and charged at Penny.

She channelled her Semblance and summoned her weapons to herself. They were intercepted by two of Penny's floating swords. Six more blades transformed into blasters than floated above Penny menacingly.

"Too late Ms. Nikos, we had a deal." General Ironwood's voice calmly replied from Penny's mouth. "Any further data will be tainted. Penny now has new orders."

The blasters turned on the crowd. Jaune knew what was about to happen but was powerless to stop it in time.

As he drew his weapon and raced forward, the lasers tore through the crowd. Each beam sliced through dozens of auraless audience members each second. Their screams were sickening. Men, women, and children alike slipped on a growing pool of blood that cascaded down the steps. Chaos erupted as they all pushed through each other to reach the exits.

"Pyrrha, use your Semblance! Ruby said it would stop her, remember?!" Jaune shouted.

Pyrrha must have been thinking the same thing. No sooner than he'd said it, Pyrrha released a wave of magnetic energy that even pushed Jaune a few steps back.

Ruby's concerns proved to not be without reason as Penny didn't move a muscle as Pyrrha moved into range. Instead, Penny had uttered three words.

"Please stop me!" she cried.

Pyrrha's sword screamed across Penny's chest an instant later without a hint of aura in sight.

Her white top split, exposing a chest that was smooth and featureless underneath. Beneath the strip of skin that had been peeled away by Pyrrha's strike was the shine of metal.

_Penny's a robot?_

Whatever the magnetic wave had done to her wore off as Penny's face dropped to pure neutrality. She grabbed the stunned Pyrrha around the shoulders, pinning her arms to her side.

Her six ranged weapons combined into two much larger ones and fired upon the grappled pair. The beam of energy that resulted was far beyond anything she had thrown in the fight thus far.

Jaune raced forward to intercept, and activated his aura skills. As he did, he noticed something weird with Pyrrha's aura.

Pyrrha's aura, which was normally a gorgeous red became muddied. Flecks of orange began to sparkle in her aura and her eyes began to glow.

A moment later Jaune realised that glow wasn't a result of something he could see with his aura sight. She was actually glowing.

A staggering amount of energy erupted form her body. Jaune was stopped in his tracks along with the energy of Penny's attack.

_What the hell are you thinking?! If you use that much aura you'll-_

The aura displays from the match were still active. On it, her aura hadn't moved an inch.

The green beam of energy split into two directions, tearing a hole in the arena and splitting a cloud in the sky. A cloud of dust covered the entire arena from the destruction.

When the dust cleared, what was left was a large dark-grey tetrahedron. A single tip glowed a dull red, having absorbed the energy of Penny's attack.

Jaune and Pyrrha both stood dumbfounded for a few seconds. Penny, however, did not.

She still had a grip on Pyrrha and with it, she lifted Pyrrha clean off the ground from behind her back and over her head.

Pyrrha thrashed to try and get away. Her skin began to turn red and veins popped out from her temples as she activated her adrenaline rush. Despite this, she was unable to break the iron grip that Penny had. She wasn't even able to shake the arm that held her.

So when her physical strength failed her, she used the next best thing, her Semblance.

Jaune knew that Ruby might hate them for it, but he only had one goal right now and that was to get Pyrrha out of here. As he watched Pyrrha wrap her blackened aura around Penny's limbs, Jaune said nothing to stop her.

With her Semblance, Pyrrha broke Penny's arm just below the wrist. It was torn so thoroughly that it dangled by nothing more than the synthetic skin she wore.

With half the grapple broken, Pyrrha repelled Penny with a large wave of magnetic energy. Penny was picked up and rag-dolled across the arena.

Before she landed, Jaune caught a glimpse of Penny's face. It was dripping in panic and concern once more.

"I don't want this! I never wanted this! I don't to be a weap-"

The desperation of her face evaporated returning the inhuman nothingness from before.

Penny pushed herself back onto her feet and gathered her weapons behind her.

Penny used four of her blasters combined to fire at Pyrrha head-on. Pyrrha met it on instinct with the large black object by moving it with her Semblance.

As her Semblance touched the metal Pyramid it seemed to vibrate and ripple. When she moved it, its shape broke down and it flowed like water. When she stopped, it reformed as a large cube and absorbed the beam.

The remaining four blasters circled Pyrrha. They shot at her from beside her newfound defensive structure.

She was forced to dodge while contained within the small space behind her metal wall. She took several shots in the process that lowered her aura down into the red.

While Pyrrha was occupied, Jaune tried to once more get into range. The second he did, Penny lashed out with both her broken and functioning arm. Despite her size, the fact she was mechanical and powered by aura made her incredibly strong. Jaune was forced to activate his muscle augmentation just to stand his ground.

Jaune slashed at Penny's body. His sword cut cleanly through cloth and skin alike but scraped along her metal chassis.

_Tch. She's tougher than the Atlesian knights were by far._

With his aura sight, Jaune had seen her aura shield retreat to exclusively protect her skull. He'd hoped that would mean he could deal some damage. Sadly, she was made of high-quality steel and capable of diffusing the force of his strike by evading.

"Penny! Why are you doing this?!" Jaune heard Ruby shout from behind him.

From his peripheral, he saw the entirety of team RWBY, along with Nora and Ren who handed Pyrrha her weapons.

_Damn it! They got here too fast._

Penny seemed to respond to Ruby's voice. Her eyes which had been motionless other than to track the movement of her targets blinked.

"Friend Ruby..." Penny whispered.

As fast as she had appeared the traces of that girl disappeared behind the mask of machinery.

"She's not doing this because she wants to!" Jaune shouted. "She's being controlled!"

"We have to help her!" Ruby cried.

"We don't have time to help her Ruby! The best we can do is stop her before she hurts anyone else."

Penny used the inhuman movement of her joints to bend around Jaune's shield, landing a direct hit. Jaune replied by slashing across the arm that did it. He severed a few of what he assumed to be some kind of dust-based muscle wire. They ran from her shoulder to her elbow where her bicep should be.

_Enough of those and she won't be able to fight._

"She's my friend! There has to be something we can do!" Ruby shouted.

"There is. Take out her weapons." Pyrrha stated. "Without those, she's not as much of a threat."

"Pyrrha's right. I'll keep her distracted." Jaune lied. He intended to disable her if he could. "You guys take out the blasters. Make it fast, we don't have long. You all know that."

Jaune hid behind his shield and checked his status as quickly as he could. His aura was already down to 70% of its absolute total. He had to be careful where he could to not use his aura in unnecessary ways.

Penny was no once again focused on the arena which was a good thing. The crowd was still struggling to push their way up and out of the stadium through the exit gates.

_With the threat of death no longer a factor, they should be able to calm down and-_

Gunfire erupted from all four directions. An avalanche of people began to fall down the stairs from the top of the stadium as the crowd turned and fled.

"What's happening?" Jaune shouted as he blocked a tackle from Penny. He was too occupied fighting to check himself.

"T-The Atlesian Knights opened fire on the crowd. The gates are blocked off!" Blake shouted.

Damnit... Nothing like a good slaughter to rile up the Grimm.

"What do we do?" Nora asked as she batted one of Penny's out of the air with her hammer. It crashed into the concrete and stopped moving.

Loathe as Jaune was to admit it, he needed everyone present to try and make this plan work. In the long term, stopping the plans of those who caused this was worth more than the people who might die here.

"We don't do anything. There are people with huntsmen training in the crowd. The other professors should be around somewhere too. We have to trust them to get everyone to safety." Jaune parried a blow and reconsidered what he said. "If you're going to help them, go now. I need to know who is with me."

"We're with you Jaune," Ruby replied after a few seconds of deliberation.

"Thanks Ruby; everyone. We're in over our heads right now, so I'm glad you're all with me." Jaune sincerely stated.

"Maybe you should let me finish the fight against Penny then? You've done a good job of keeping her busy, but your biggest attacks use too much aura." Pyrrha suggested.

Jaune chuckled. This wasn't exactly the ideal circumstances for showing off his new powers for the first time. But it would have to do.

"I'm out of my depth with the responsibility. Fighting though? I've got a few tricks you don't know about yet. You let me handle Penny and you focus on her weapons." Jaune replied with a smile.

He condensed his aura and boosted his strength to its absolute limit. He left his dexterity as it was though. He couldn't justify the doubled aura cost when he was already keeping up with his opponent.

He readjusted to the changed sense of weight in his sword with a few experimental swings. It felt light and he could swing much faster as a result. His timing was different and it was harder to put his weight into his swings. Despite all that, he knew he was stronger like this.

Penny watched from afar. While Jaune wasn't distracting her, she was able to control her weapons more fluidly.

Once he felt he had a good grasp on his strength, he dashed and shoulder-checked Penny. The impact wasn't kind on his shoulder and he regretted not having invested in pauldrons. Still, the force behind the blow did its job and knocked Penny off balance.

Jaune followed the tackle with a rising slash that screeched across Penny's breast. His attack left a visible scar in the steel.

Penny, unable to feel the pain or impact of her robotics being damaged, fought on. Her hyper-mobile limbs lashed out like whips. Any spot that Jaune left unguarded got pounded, regardless of the angle or position.

Jaune, though very much able to feel the pain of her strikes, also tried to push through. His chest was sending sharp shooting pains that spiked up his throat. He swallowed through them and brought his sword down onto the girl's head from above.

For a change, Penny blocked. She sacrificed the top half of her already damaged arm to protect her skull.

Jaune had already assumed as much due to the aura. Now though, he knew that there must be something inside there that keeps her working.

"We're almost finished here!" Weiss shouted from behind him.

_Time for me to finish up here as well then._

Jaune feinted a horizontal slash at Penny's head. When she predictably blocked, Jaune dipped the slash diagonally downwards. His sword chewed from her left rib-plate to her right hip, avoiding the thick chest chassis. In the process, he had cut clean through a solid steel rod that ran down the center of her body like a spine.

Jaune's body was blown backward as electricity arced up his sword into his body, but the job was done. Penny's legs gave out leaving her prone on the ground.

Without her lethal weapons or the ability to walk she wouldn't be a threat. The worst she could do is crawl with her hands towards someone.

"Jaune, what was that?" Pyrrha asked, bouncing up to him.

Jaune deactivated his aura and sucked in several deep breaths. That form always left him out of breath no matter how short the usage was. His chest pounded away at a million miles a minute.

"Muscle augmentation plus the ability to condense your aura equals a lot of strength. I wasn't bluffing when I said you'd fallen behind. Although... whatever that is-" Jaune gestured at the large vibrating mass of metal that hovered behind her. "-will probably even the odds a bit."

"I kind of think it's cheating a bit th-" Pyrrha paused mid-sentence. "Jaune, are you okay?"

Jaune raised his eyebrow at her. "Yeah, I'm fine, just puffed, why?"

"Your nose is bleeding," Pyrrha replied.

Jaune wiped at his nose and sure enough, there was a trail of blood left behind on his gloves.

_I don't remember getting hit in the head..._

"I'm sure it's nothing." Jaune dismissed. "Anyway, we've got bigger problems."

"Like what?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune looked over at the others. They were with Ruby who at the time was trying to get through to Penny.

"We need to leave." Jaune quietly urged. "We need to get out of here now. You need to get out of here."

"Because I'm the maiden?" Pyrrha confirmed.

"Because I don't want anything to happen to you. We can take Nora and Ren and run away. We get out of Vale, then if we keep our heads down, it could be years before they find us." Jaune suggested. "We knew this was going to happen, we should've stayed out of it. We should never have gotten involved."

"Well we are involved now. We need to get back to the professor; he'll know what to do." Pyrrha replied.

"That's the problem Pyrrha. Getting back to him means walking into the enemy's trap."

"What?"

"The professor lost. Oz and Ms. Goodwitch are both being held hostage in exchange for you. Our choices are to do exactly what they want or to find our own way forward. Only one of those ends up with us walking out of this alive." Jaune explained.

"And only one of those has us doing what's right. Don't you want to save the professors?" Pyrrha shot back.

Jaune looked back at the group, it didn't seem like they'd noticed yet.

"Of course I do. But not if it means putting you at risk."

"You're not putting me at anything. I'm making this choice."

"Then don't. Please Pyrrha; I'm begging you. Don't do this." Jaune begged.

"Don't do what?" Blake asked.

_Damn her good hearing!_

Blake's question had drawn the attention of the others.

"Jaune?" Ruby asked.

"It's nothing." Jaune stated as she refused to meet hiseye. "She's already made her choice. We need a way off of Amity. We can't use the bullheads though, they're for the civilians evacuating. We've got about 9 minutes to get to Beacon before Adam kills the hostages."

"If it was me and one other, I could use my glyphs, but I can't take all six of us," Weiss replied.

"Ruby and I can probably use our landing strategies. It's too big of a drop without enough horizontal distance for the rest of you though." Yang explained.

Jaune had to agree. Even as strong as he'd gotten he doubted he could survive a fall like that without slowing himself down somehow. Even Pyrrha needed to use the forest and her shield to break her fall.

"I have an idea... maybe?" Pyrrha offered.

"Let's hear it." Jaune replied.

"What if I used this to carry us down?" Pyrrha said, moving the metal obelisk in front of everyone.

It slowly warped into a 4-inch thick plate that would easily fit all of them.

"Isn't that heavy? Surely you can't carry it and all of us without exhausting yourself."

"Actually, I don't know why, but it's incredibly easy to manipulate with my Semblance. My control is a bit off and I can only make simple shapes. But I've kept it up this entire time without much drain on my aura at all." Pyrrha explained.

_Of course it's that easy. Now even if I wanted to stop her I wouldn't be able to._

"Is it... safe?" Blake asked, putting a foot on the levitating platform to test its stability.

"For the most part, I think so? If something goes wrong, Weiss can take you and I'll handle myself and Jaune. But I think it can get us most of the way without a problem."

"Let's do it then." Jaune ordered, jumping onto it himself.

Everyone hopped on and Pyrrha managed to keep the object floating without much issue.

"Wait!" Ruby suddenly announced. "What about Penny? Are we just going to leave her here?"

"I know she was your friend, but there's nothing we can do for her. She'd be a liability if we brought her along." Jaune stated as nicely as he could.

Ruby shrunk in on herself, no doubt unhappy with the concept of leaving her friend behind. Still, she nodded in agreement.

Pyrrha lifted the platform up and out of the arena and began directing it toward the academy.

"Jaune… I know you're angry with me." Pyrrha whispered as she scooted over to him.

"I'm not angry. I'm scared." Jaune whispered back. "You just don't get it."

"Then help me understand."

"We have to fight Adam, the same Adam that left me hospitalized for a week. We have to do that without the Atlas super-robot on our side. But you? You have to fight Cinder, the one who did all of this. She is probably the one who beat Oz and Ms. Goodwitch. And you have to do it alone. We can't bring you with us because if Cinder finds out and we have to fight them both at once, we all die. We still might. This plan is suicide for you and damn close for the rest of us."

"Then come up with a new one. That's what you've always done. Why can't you do it now?" the others had noticed as her voice rose, but they gave us the illusion of privacy.

"I did. We should run." Jaune gave up pretending like the others couldn't hear. "All of us should run. The odds were never in our favor. An entire kingdom wants us dead. Would it be so bad for us to run and live to fight another day?"

"Heroes don't-" Ruby started.

"I'm not a hero. You're not a hero. None of us are heroes." Jaune interrupted.

"But we can be!" Ruby insisted.

"This is what we've both been working our whole lives for Jaune. Why are you suddenly running from this?" Pyrrha asked.

"Because-"

"Does anyone else hear that?" Blake suddenly asked, interrupting us all.

Everyone paused to listen and shook their heads.

"Why, what do you hear?" Yang asked.

"It sounds like… rumbling."

As if summoned by the word itself, the noise became audible to everyone as it grew in volume.

The sound came from the direction of Mountain Glenn which towered in the distance.

"Could it be a stampede? We saw all of those Goliaths right? Maybe they're all on the way here?" Ruby asked.

"It would take a Grimm way bigger than that to make this much noise," Blake complained. She pointed her ears away from the source.

_That's asking for troub-_

Jaune didn't even have time to point out how cursed that kind of talk was before Mount Glenn itself exploded.

From the mountains now crumbling remains a Grimm far larger than any Jaune had even heard of emerged.

With a screech, it forced more of the stone to break away. It unfurled a set of red wings with which it lifted itself into the air.

"Get us out of the air, now!" Jaune shouted.

Everybody scrambled to grab onto an edge as Pyrrha sped their descent.

When they were about to crash into the ground, Pyrrha put on the brakes. The sudden stop caused everyone to slam into the metal frame. They all jumped off, eager to be off the flying death-trap and onto the safe earth.

Jaune pulled himself to his feet and stared at the Beacon tower which loomed over them like an omen.

"I have to do this Jaune, or I won't be the girl you fell in love with." Pyrrha stated, throwing his words from earlier back at him.

"If you're going to go no matter what, then at least do this properly. Your goal isn't to win, it's to delay her until help arrives. If anyone can stop her, it will be the professors. I'll make sure they get to you even if it costs me my life."

"Jaune…" Pyrrha whined.

Nora raced up and hugged Pyrrha.

"Good luck!" said Nora.

Ren too placed a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder.

"We know you can do it."

"Just hold out as long as you can! We'll be right behind you." Said Ruby. Her teammates all nodded in agreement.

Pyrrha looked to Jaune.

"This better not be a goodbye, you hear me? In fact, I'm not even going to say it. Once today is over though, we're going to have a long talk. Just... don't do anything I would do." Jaune ordered.

Pyrrha nodded.

"Alright guys. Let's do this."

**/-/**

It took more time than expected to reach the cafeteria. Grimm had already begun swarming the courtyard and they had to fight their way through.

Worse than that was that the Grimm they had sighted before was flying overhead.

Black tar oozed from its gaping maw and its chest and created large puddles all over the school. From them, Grimm spawned.

Still, as numerous as these Grimm were, they didn't quite measure up to the level of a true Grimm horde just yet. Between the seven of them, moving forward wasn't an issue.

When they reached the cafeteria Nora took the lead.

"I've always wanted to do this," she admitted.

The doors stood no chance against her hammer.

Inside, there were no lights, not even from the appliances in the kitchen. It was like all power had been disconnected within the building. Fortunately, with just the flames of the city and the light of the moon, it was lit enough to see inside.

All of the tables and benches had been pushed to the side save for one. The final bench sat dead center of the room. Upon it sat the professors, bound in place. Behind them stood Adam Taurus.

"Hello, my love." Adam coolly stated.

"We've brought her, and Cinder has-" Jaune tried to negotiate.

"Shut up! Take them and go." Adam shouted. He cut through the ropes that held Glynda and Ozpin down and kicked them forward toward the group.

"Ah!" Glynda grunted as she broke her fall. She was barely conscious enough to stop her head from bouncing off the ground.

Oz thudded motionlessly to the ground.

Jaune and Ruby ran forward to help the professors up. Ruby helped Glynda make it back behind the group. Jaune however was not as successful.

Professor Ozpin was non-responsive. The cause, an inch wide wound that punched straight through the center of his chest. The lining of his chest was cauterised. Whatever had happened to him, he hadn't even had the chance to bleed.

"This wasn't part of the deal!" Jaune shouted. "We brought Pyrrha and Blake and you returned them to us alive!"

"That's not my problem. When you made that deal he was already dead. If you were smart, you would've checked the condition of the hostages first." Adam smugly retorted. "Now, it's time to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time."

The speed of Jaune's observation had increased in the many months since his last encounter with Adam. Even then, try as he might, his body just wasn't fast enough to react in time. Adam crossed the room and brought his sword screaming across Blake's aura. All Jaune could do was watch.

Those closest to her reacted first. Yang fired two shots from her gauntlet. Adam sliced through both of them, causing them to blow up before they got into effective range. Weiss summoned a glyph a fraction of a second later but Adam broke through it with the sheer force of a single swing. He then kicked Ruby backward and out of the air as she leaped for him with her scythe ready to strike.

Jaune wasted no time bringing forth his full power and dashing at Adam from behind. He reached Adam just after he managed to catch a full swing from Nora with his bare hand. Adam threw her into Ren who had opened fire with his weapons before turning to Jaune.

Their swords clashed and for a second Jaune thought he had the upper hand in the clash. Adam destroyed that brief glimmer of hope when he used Jaune's strike to flip backward away from the group. His sword began to glow a dull red.

"I told you once that I was going to take everything from you Blake. I think I'm going to start with the one who interrupted us last time." Adam stated.

Jaune was distracted with thoughts of making it to Pyrrha as fast as possible. He charged straight for Adam, channelling aura through his blade for more power.

Adam met him head-on, not only matching, but far exceeding Jaune's strike with his own.

A red-colored sickle of energy extended beyond Adam's sword, flinging Jaune's sword up and out of the way. A large scar was carved into Jaune's chest plate, and his aura boiled on contact with the red energy. Jaune almost lost consciousness from the attack and the crash into the wall behind him.

_That... hurt..._

Jaune checked his status to check how much damage he had taken. In terms of aura, he still had his regular reserve available. His backup aura that he had spent all day recovering, however, was gone. Adam had likely not expected anyone to have as much aura as he did.

Physically he wasn't doing so well either. Even with his enhanced aura shield's ability to mitigate impact he had a concussion. His vision was blurry and he could feel his legs shake as he tried to pick himself back up to rejoin the fight.

Adam was tearing through the group even as they fought him 6 on 1. His level and skills were just too far above theirs. Adam had time to react to each strike and reposition for the next. At any given time he was only truly fighting one of them.

Weiss was sent flying into him, knocking them both into a heap near the corner.

"Caught you..." Jaune coughed.

"My hero." Weiss flatly stated before trying to get back up and unleash another torrent of dust at Adam.

Adam sheathed his sword and grabbed Ren and Nora by the throats when they rushed him. He promptly threw them through the roof. They must have gone far because Jaune didn't hear them land.

In a blink of an eye, the battlefield shifted. Without realizing it, Jaune had lost consciousness.

Weiss had been knocked down again several meters to his left. Ruby was now recovering from having had her aura shattered. She wore a large cut that started at her collar bone and ended just below her breast. On her petite frame, it looked that much larger than normal.

Ren and Nora leaned on each other for support as the pair looked like they were on their last legs.

Yang and Blake were the only two who remained able to fight, and only then because Adam was choosing to toy with them.

Rather than cutting them down, he was pummelling them both with his open hands.

It was clear that the beating was charging Yang's Semblance. Her hair began to emit a stronger and brighter golden flame.

Jaune tried to stand once more but succeeded in only making it to his knees.

"Come on, we can do this guys!" Ruby encouraged. "He's alone. We have each other."

Weiss stood and pointed the tip of her rapier at Adam. Ren and Nora slowly separated themselves from each other to ready themselves.

"Is this what you've been doing since you left? Playing hero with a bunch of children? It seems you've grown weak in your time away Blake. I've grown bored of playing with you." Adam stated.

"Play with this!" Yang spat as she finally released her Semblance.

She charged head first at Adam who took a stance with his sword sheathed.

With perfect timing, Adam lashed out at Yang the instant she began to enter his range.

Jaune could see in almost slow motion the path they each were taking. Adam's sword would reach her throat before her fist reached his face. But the instant after it was drawn an inch from its sheathe, Blake appeared before him.

She threw herself onto his hand that drew the blade, smothering his draw.

But it wasn't enough to stop him.

A red crescent moon divided Blake's arm from her body.

An instant later Yang's fist found purchase with Adam's skull.

He slid back several meters, clearly woozy but with his aura still intact.

_Shit shit shit!_

"Weiss, that thing you did to Ruby. Hit me with it!" Jaune shouted as he forced himself to dash at Adam.

As he ran, he saw a golden glyph appear beneath him and the world slowed to a crawl.

A piece of glass fell from a broken window and moved like it was suspended in water.

Before Adam could even resheathe his sword, Jaune was upon him. He pushed all his remaining aura into enhancing his strength. He knew that it was more than his body could handle. He could feel it too as the bones in his legs began to fracture from the pressure.

He swung at Adam, who somehow managed to react in time to block. His guard was blown aside.

Jaune's elbow dislocated from the forces exerted. Jaune simply acknowledged it and prepared to swing again. He was so drunk on pain that everything was a blur.

He could feel every part of his body aching as he moved. His bones creaked from his excessive use of aura to strengthen his muscles. His heart beat out of sync, simultaneously pounding and fluttering. His blood pressure spiked and the blood vessels in the corners of his eyes exploded.

And he forced himself to ignore all of it.

With his still dislocated arm, Jaune swung his sword into Adam's body four more times in succession. Each strike crossed through several vital spots as they ground along his aura. With the rest of his energy, Jaune released a final horizontal swing.

"Coup de grace!" Jaune shouted.

The real world slingshotted back to its normal speed and Adam was sent flying.

Jaune collapsed on the spot. He released his muscle enhancement in favor of trying to breathe as his whole body screamed in pain. Jaune began to cough uncontrollably as his lungs protested his life choices. Through red-stained vision, he could see splatters of blood coming up with each cough.

"Jaune!" Weiss shouted from beside him.

_At least my ears still work. That's an improvement from last time._

Within a few seconds, his aura began to work its magic. As the pain numbed, Jaune craned his head to see what had happened since he collapsed.

Adam was retreating, holding a hand to his chest which looked to be bleeding freely. That was good news. The bad news was that Yang and Blake were in just as bad shape as he was.

Yang's arm was bloodied by the bones that poked through the surface of her hand. Even for Yang with her Semblance, a punch that strong on low aura was bound to have consequences. Still, it would heal easily enough given time.

Blake however was doing considerably worse. Her arm stopped at the elbow in a gory stump. It was bleeding even through the tourniquet Ruby had fashioned with her cloak.

"Nora... Ren..." Jaune called from his place on the floor.

"We're here!" Nora replied from behind him.

He felt her hand on his side a moment later as the pair squatted beside him.

"Take Blake, Yang, and the professor somewhere safe," Jaune ordered.

"What about you? You're hurt! You're coughing up blood and your arm is broken!" Nora cried.

"You overused your muscle augmentation didn't you?" Ren accused.

Jaune tried to laugh it off only serving to induce another coughing fit.

"Yeah, I did. But that's not the point. Those three need help and they can't fight for themselves. You two are the least injured. Where I'm going, I can't take you with me anyway." Jaune replied.

"But-"

"Take them and go! This isn't up for discussion; I'm ordering you as leader of team JNPR to protect Blake, Yang, and the professor." Jaune ordered.

_Please just go. I want at least half of my team to make it through tonight._

"Fine. But you better be right behind us." Ren insisted.

"Sure. Of course." Jaune lied.

Ren frowned but nodded and picked up Yang. Nora in turn carefully grabbed Blake and the four of them hobbled out of the door.

Jaune watched them leave and once he was certain they were out of earshot he spoke to the two remaining girls.

"Weiss, Ruby. What's your condition?"

"Better than yours." Weiss replied.

Jaune saw that she was leaning on her rapier for support. From the way she was shaking, she could clearly barely stand.

"Ruby?" he asked.

"I'm out of aura, but the cut isn't a dangerous one. I can still fight." She replied.

"Then I need to ask you for a favour. If you can fight, I need you to help me save my partner. We're all in bad shape, but the three of us combine might be able to make a big enough distraction for Pyrrha to end the fight."

"You mean up there? After what happened?"

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked and Weiss pointed out the window toward the tower.

The entire upper floor that used to be Oz's office was gone. In its place, the dragon Grimm which had been flying overhead.

"While we were fighting, that thing ripped the building apart. It's been up there ever since just watching and covering the tower with that black liquid." Ruby explained.

Jaune chewed his lips hard enough to draw blood as he contemplated his options.

"I have to go up there." Jaune hadn't finished healing yet, but he had done enough to stand himself back up." If you won't join me, then at least help me get there. I'll do the rest myself."

"Jaune..." Ruby started.

"Please! I can't heal myself, fight through Grimm, and make it to Pyrrha in time by myself. I'm nothing without her..." Jaune begged.

"I'm sorry Jaune. I know what she means to you, but I have my own team to think about. I... I can't justify leaving Weiss here and I won't bring her with us. I have to prioritise my team, that's my responsibility as a leader." Ruby apologetically explained.

_So that's it then..._

"Fine. I guess I'll do it by myself." Jaune stated.


End file.
